Monster
by cassiroll411
Summary: THIS STORY HAD BEEN REVISED. PLEASE READ REVISED VERSION AT: /s/9070152/1/Monster-REVISED Kagome is a Priestess who has been trained since birth to kill demons, but when she is captured by a half demon, she must decide which to follow. Her heart or her training?
1. Meeting

**Chapter One**

Kagome sat next to Kikyo, her white Kosode blowing steadily in the wind. "Sister," she whispered, her hair gliding gently in front of her face, "are we to begin?"

Kikyo nodded sharply, standing so fast Kagome's eyes barely followed the movement. After a moment of hesitation, Kagome also stood, pushing away her long black hair. It settled neatly on her back, almost touching her hips. Kikyo's own black hair reached to her knees, giving her a slightly childish look, but Kagome knew better. Her sister was not a child.

" Draw your bow," Kikyo commanded, brown eyes alight with what looked suspiciously like enjoyment. She was feeding on her sisters fear, embracing it. This was their last lesson. She would teach her sister the element of fear.

Kagome's hands shook as she swiftly pulled out her weapon. Not a second later, Kikyo's own bow surfaced, arrow poised.

"Shoot," she commanded.

Wiping her left palm on her dress, Kagome raised the bow. She slid an arrow into place, aimed for Kikyo's heart, and fired. Kikyo's own arrow flew, and the two pointed ends collided in the middle. They clattered to the grounds, bits of light still clinging to them.

"You aimed, but did not intend to kill," Kikyo told Kagome, leaning over to pick up her arrow, "I thought by now you would have-"

"Don't move." Kagome's arrow was suddenly at Kikyo's side, the sharp point poking straight through into the miko's soft white skin.

Kikyo smiled, "You move quickly, your speed has improved," her hand rose slowly and Kagome's arrow jabbed harder, " you're looking at the wrong one." she whispered. Too late Kagome noticed the small knife heading straight for eye, but at the last second she dropped her bow and grabbed the knife between her thump and forefinger. She ignored the sliver of blood flowing from between her fingers and clasped the rest of her hand around the cool metal edge. Pulling backwards with all her might, she forced Kikyo to her knees, raising the arrow point up, she coiled her arm behind her head, and threw the arrow as hard as she could. With a loud _thud _the arrow pierced the rough soil left of one of the nearby trees, glistening with sweat where Kagome's fingers had clutched it.

"You're dead," she said. Breathing heavily, she released her sister, watching her as she fell onto the soft grass of the meadow.

Kikyo's smile grew wider, more genuine, teasing even, "No," she said, "you're dead."

"What?" Kagome asked, her breath caught in her throat, she gasped as the carbon in her lungs built up unable to be released. Grabbing her throat, she fell to her knees, choking.

Kikyo stood, pulling out a small medicine container, "Drink," she said, holding the bowl-like container to her younger sibling's mouth. Kagome did as she was told, a bitter taste rolling over her tongue. When she caught her breath, she glanced up at her sister, confused. "Poison," Kikyo answered, pointing at Kagome's hand. The small cut was gushing out blood, which Kikyo began to rap with piece of cloth, "it was on the knife, you should think before you pull foolish stunts like that." she pulled the cloth hard into a bunny eared like fashion, eyes aglow with cunningness. "You once again failed to beat me."

"Damn it," Kagome muttered, and was rewarded with another sharp tug on the make-shift bandage.

"We are Priestesses', we do not use fowl language," standing up, she held out a hand, palm-up. "Come, I shall give you the jewel."

Kagome's eyes widened in surprise, "But I didn't beat you…"

"You have proven you are worthy enough," She answered, and for a moment her mask fell down, and she revealed to her sister what she was feeling: pride.

Kagome smiled, taking her sister's hand. "I am no longer your apprentice? We are equals?"

Kikyo nodded, eyes gleaming, "Yes, Priestess."

The two sisters nodded to each other, accepting the new title. "Let's go home," Kagome said, and together the two went, Priestesses' of equal status.

***

"I smell something," Inuyasha whispered to himself, dog ears pricking up as the sound of footsteps and low voices filled the forest, "feh," he muttered as the tones of females became obvious, "It's just two girls from that village." but as they got closer, he noticed the arrows on their backs, the bows swinging slightly on their shoulders. These were Priestesses', his enemy.

Tucking his arms into his bright red kimono, he leaned back in the tree he was laying in, making his voice as clear as possible, he shouted, "Oh look, it's the little demon girls, the ones who slay the awful bastards who hide in this forest. Look how nice and girly they walk? Why, they might step on a caterpillar-demon and smoosh him with one mighty stomp."

One of them looked up at him, eyes fierce with anger, "Hold your tongue, you are addressing a Priestess."

"Oh really?" He said, leaning forward. "And what Priestess are you? The one of rosy cheeks?"

The girl flushed. "_No_, I'm Kagome. Lady Kagome to you."

Inuyasha laughed, swinging from the tree and landing neatly in front of the girl. "You seem rather bold."

"Leave him be," The other said, not turning to look back at him as she continued to walk, "I thought I told you: don't play with wild dogs."

He laughed again, standing to his full height. "I've heard of you, Priestess. You are, Kikyo, right? The one who reeks of demons' blood. I hear you guard a jewel."

Kikyo's head turned at the word. She stopped in her tracks. "How do you know of that?" She asked sharply.

Inuyasha cracked his knuckles loudly, "Someone in your faithful village spilled, more then words I might add," His fangs shown in the dimming sunlight, glistening like daggers.

Slowly, the miko took her bow from her shoulder, reaching back for an arrow, she asked, "Who have you killed, demon?"

"I didn't kill anyone, smartass." Inuyasha said, leaning back into a fighting stance. "Don't make assumptions."

"I despise fowl language," Kikyo slid the arrow into place, "and I hate pesky half breeds like you, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha ears went flat against his head, the word he despised hanging in the air. _Half breed… half breed…_

"Be quiet," he growled, raising a sharply clawed hand, "or I'll split you in two."

Kagome looked from Inuyasha to Kikyo, eyes wide. She had not expected a fight, not so soon after finnaly being accepted.

"Kagome," Kikyo said cooly, " go home, I'll be with you soon." She pulled back the arrow until the string was taunt, an almost silent _boing_ echoed as she held it, eyes trained to react to the slightest movement of the hanyou.

Kagome bit her lip.

Kikyo tensed, preparing to shoot, "Go _now, _Kagome."

Inuyasha smirked. "Yeah, Kagome, go run back to your little village. Little girls shouldn't fight in adults matters."

Kagome's face turned bright red and, against her better judgment, she stomped her foot. " Don't you start with me! You barely look like under eighteen!"

He shrugged, " Better then looking ten."

Kagome stomped her foot again. "I!"_, stomp,_ "Am!"_, stomp, _"A women!"_,_ _stomp, stomp._

Inuyasha grabbed her by the neck, dragging her towards him. "Quiet," he whispered, claws digging into her skin, "you annoy me."

"Let her go!" Kikyo commanded firmly, but her arm lowered slightly.

"You know," He said smuggly, backing away slowly into the creeping shadows of the trees, "I don't think I will."

Kikyo's hand tightened on her bow, her eyes wavering with contained rage. "I am warning you, half breed…"

Inuyasha's eyes flashed. "Congrats," he said coldly, "you just blew it." He leaned downwards, then burst up in a great show of strength, lifting Kagome with him. Kikyo watched helplessly as her only sister was carried off, drifting farther and farther away with every leap of the half-demons legs.

"Kagome…" She whispered, eyes pooling with silent tears, "I'll get you back." And she turned, running as fast as she could back to the village


	2. Captured

**Chapter 2**

"Kaede!" Kikyo called, opening the small cloth flap that hung in the door way of every home, " Sister Kaede!"

Kaede sat by the fire place, coaxing the dry wood to burn, "What is it, Kikyo?" She asked, voice tired and hoarse from years of hard work. Her back was hunched and her hair had lost all it's color. She was the elder of the village, and had been a Priestess herself in her day, when her apprentice, Kikyo, had not yet been born.

The words came out in a rush, jumbling together till they were almost unrecognizable. But Kaede knew Kikyo well enough to know when something was wrong.

"Child, has something happened to your apprentice?"

Kikyo nodded, taking a deep breath before starting again. "Kagome has been kidnapped by the half demon, Inuyasha. He is using her as bait to get to the sacred jewel."

Kaede pursed her lips, "How do you know of Inuyasha?"

Kikyo blinked, surprised by the blunt question, but quickly recovered. Gaining her composer, she stood up straight and answered, "He has been attacking nearby villages, I heard of him through peasant gossip. A half demon in red clothing with the ears of a dog. He fit the description well enough."

A small coil of smoke rolled up from the wood, a tiny spark light up, and soon the fire place was ablaze with burning ashes, "He is the son of the Great Dog Demon, the one who ruled over these lands, but died in a battle a decade and a half ago. I heard he had a son, but I was told that it was Sesshomaru, a full demon, not Inuyasha. Of course, being such a great demon, he would want to keep his affairs hidden," she picked up a pot full of water and set it over the fire to boil, "Inuyasha used to live in this village, as a child."

Kikyo's eyes widened, " But how is that possible, Sister? I've been in this village my entire life, I would have saw him."

Kaede nodded, " I understand your confusion, our numbers are small so it is easy to believe that we know everything about everyone. But Inuyasha was here, even if only for five or so years. You would have been almost eight when he left us, chased off after by an angry mob when his mother was too weak to protect him. A poor child, he mostly begged, running around asking for food and medicine for his mother. He probably doesn't even know his mother is dead," the water began to bubble, and she threw in a few spices that filled the room with the smell of clovers and peppermint, "He never came to our side of the village, he stayed near the west, sleeping in the woods with his mother, though he never did say where exactly. Perhaps he has taken Kagome there? To where his mother raised him."

Kikyo's voice lowerd as she thought, "Do you think it could be a cave? Or maybe a small hut secluded in the trees?"

The old women shook her head, "We would have noticed the smoke in the winter time, he must be somewhere warm."

Suddenly, Kikyo's face lit up, "I know where they are!" She said, a glint of excitement creeping into her eyes. "Thank you for your help, Sister Kaede." she bowed slightly, before quickly securing her bow and arrows and jerking up the cloth flap.

Kaede shook her head as her apprentice ran out, "As thick-headed as ever," she sighed, throwing more spices into the water, "let's hope it isn't her downfall."

***

Kagome kicked at her captures legs, hoping he would lose his footing, "Let me _go_! Damn it!"

" I thought Priestesses' were supposed to be pure and holy, how does cussing associate with that?"

She kicked at him again. "Quiet, you!"

Inuyasha grabbed her foot as they leaped again, "You are _really _obnoxious, you know that?" He said between breaths, this girl was _heavy_.

"Put me down!"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes, " Fine, you win." He began to loosen his grip before Kagome grabbed onto his neck.

"Ahhh!"

"Well, you said let go." He pointed out as he hoisted her up onto his back. She wrapped her legs around him and hung on for dear life.

"You're crazy!"

"And you're freaking out!" Kagome screamed as one of the tree branches they were on began to break, but Inuyasha jumped onto another a split second before it crashed to the ground.

"Be more careful!" She snapped, tightening her grip on his neck.

"Ch-choking!" He cried, grabbing onto Kagome's hands, "Can't breath!"

Kagome let go and instead held onto his arms, "Well, if you hadn't been stupid and took me with you we wouldn't be in this situation, now would we?"

"If you would shut up, I'd let you down!" Inuyasha yelled. In a few moments they landed on solid ground where he roughly dropped the wench.

"Ow!"

"Oh, be quiet."

Kagome rubbed her backside, glaring up at him angrily. "Look what you've done! My dress is ruined!"

"Oh, come on," He said, looking over the miko's dirty clothing, "It's not to bad."

"Not to bad?" Kagome shrieked, "My father gave this to me!" Her eyes pooled with angry tears. "It was the last thing he did for me!"

Inuyasha looked down at her, coldly, "At least you have your sister." he said.

Kagome looked up at him shocked, "Is your dad-?"

"Dead," he said harshly, "the old man croaked the day I was born."

"Oh…" Kagome lowered her eyes, filled with pity and understanding, "I'm sorry…"

"Don't be," Inuyahsa said, looking away awkwardly, "I don't need sympathy from a human."

Kagome stood. Ignoring the comment, she wiped of most of the dirt on her dress, trying to look presentable, "So where are we?" She asked, looking around. The area was covered with pits filled with steaming water, the ground decorated in beautiful plants and flowers. "I've never been here."

Inuyasha shrugged, "A hot spring, I thought that would be fairly obvious."

Kagome's eyes lit up, "A hot spring?" She said, squealing with delight. She ran towards the water, kicking off her straw sandals and socks. She dipped her toes in the water. "Oh! It's so warm!" She put her feet in the rest of the way, stretching out on the grass. She looked up at Inuyasha and smiled, "Come on in, I don't bite!"

Inuyasha's face turned red, "Weren't you just yelling at me a minute ago?" He accused, "What's with you?"

Kagome turned over onto her stomach, making sure to keep her ankles submerged, "I'm trying to make the best of this, what's wrong with that?"

"B-but," He sputtterd, " I kidnapped you!"

"I would have done the same. Kikyo's arrow was about to go straight into your head, you had to, to get away." She grinned and gestured to the spot beside her. Inuyasha shook his head rapidly. She sighed, "All right, be that way." She sat up, holding up her dress so she could wade into the water. She laughed again, "I love this!"

Inuyasha climbed into a nearby tree, leaning against the trunk with his hands behind his head. Glancing down at the splashing girl, he smiled. _What a strange miko_, he thought.


	3. Misunderstanding

Chapter 3

Kagome smiled as Inuyasha dozed peacefully in the tree. _He isn't so bad_, she thought as she laid out in the light of the morning sun, waiting for her legs to dry. She stayed there for a few moments before standing up and once more examining her dress. It was coated in grass stains and had rips that would be hard to sew, but for some reason she felt at peace, her anger towards her kidnapper had melted in the warmth of the springs. She pulled on her socks and sandals, quietly, hoping she wouldn't wake Inuyasha. His ears flinched every time she made a noise, but he stayed silent, not showing any signs of consciousness.

_Perhaps he won't notice me leaving_, she thought as she gathered up her weapons. It would be best if he didn't, she didn't want him to be troubled by her. He'd probably be happy when he awoke and found his nuisance gone. She left him then, walking swiftly through the trees and away from the beautiful garden of flowers.

***

Inuyasha awoke only moments after she was out of sight, noticing right away she was gone. A hallow feeling filled his chest as he looked at the empty spot where she had laid, the grass still folded. Her smell lingered, giving off the impression she was still there.

_How could I be so stupid? _he thought, bitterly, _of course she would run, I'm nothing but a monster her._

Suddenly something flew past his head and straight into the trunk of the tree. He looked back to see an arrow wedged into the wood, shining brightly with spiritual power.

"Inuyasha," said a cool voice, "die."

Another arrow flew, but Inuyasha ducked this time. A few strands of silver hair floated in the air. "Go away, Kikyo," he said, "your sister's gone, and I'm not in the mood to fight with an old bag like you."

Kikyo's face flushed with rage, her mask slipping, "Did you kill her?"

Inuyasha blinked. Him kill Kagome? How absurd was that?

"Did you?" Kikyo's arrow was aimed at his heart.

Inuyasha shook his head, numbly.

"Then where is she?"

Swinging down from the tree, Inuyasha managed to land beside the miko, easily taking the bow from her hand and snapping it in half. He threw the pieces into the forest, "I said go away."

Kikyo ignored the fact that her weapon was destroyed, she had plenty of tricks and her arrows were still of use, "Did she run away?" Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him flinch, "I shall find her, than," she began to walk away, but stopped, turning her head ever so slightly she glared at the hanyou, "and when I do, I will return to finish what I started," she ran off, leaving Inuyasha alone, surrounded by the soft bubbling sounds of the spring.

***

_I made it, _Kagome thought, proudly, leaning against the bone eaters well. She had been told to run to the largest tree in the forest if she ever got lost, and there she would find it. _I think the village is west of here, _she frowned, directions were not here strong suite. She sat down, contemplating. _Maybe it was east…_

"Miko, what is your purpose here?"

Kagome spun around, hitting her head the well, "Ow…"

A hand suddenly grabbed her dress, pulling her to her feet, "You are extremely clumsy."

It was a man, and a rather oddly dressed one at that. A spiked pauldron covered his left shoulder and was attached to the upper section of a cuirass. His kimono was mostly white with a red honeycomb and flower crest at the collar and sleeves and his footwear consisted of flat pointed ankle-high boots below white pants that ballooned outward. He was extremely handsome, with two purple lines that streaked across his cheeks and a matching moon on his forehead. A soft looking fluffy-thing rested nicely on his shoulders. But what really got to her was his eyes, a light amber color, something about them seemed familiar…

He had a few strands of silver hair draped across his face, and Kagome reached up to push them away, but he caught her hand easily before she could.

"Why are you here, miko?" He said again, releasing her wrist forcefully.

"I-I…um.." She stuttered, "I'm K-Kagome."

He frowned, "I did not ask your name."

She blushed, "Yes but…I-I mean…what's your name?"

He didn't answer, just turned around and started walking away.

"Wait!" she cried after him. He stopped and looked back expectantly, "I'm lost," she admitted.

A small flicker of amusement passed through his eyes before it was quickly diminished by his cool exterior, "That is not my concern."

"But you asked why I was here!"

"A momentary lapse in judgment, curiosity got the better of me."

"But what am I supposed to do?"

"I don't know, cry," he began walking away again.

"Please!" Kagome begged, running up to him, "I need help!" She grabbed his kimono, a mistake.

In an instant, he sharply turned around, taking her wrists in his hands and squeezing them tightly, "Filthy human, do not touch me," he growled.

Her eyes widened, ignoring the pain, she gasped, "Filthy human? You say that as though you weren't one."

"Because I'm not," he let go of her, still staring at her with rage for touching him, "and you, Priestess, of all people, should have figured that out."

"I'm sorry…"

A mist began to form at his feet, and in seconds he was lifted into the air, "Goodbye," he said coolly, before drifting upwards into the sky, the fluffy-scarf-thing floating behind him.

Kagome watched him go, not bothering to run after.

It was at this time that Kikyo decided to come running out of the forest, hair a mess and eyes full of tears as she took in her sister.

"Kagome!" she cried, embracing her.

"Sister?" Kagome said, bewildered, "are you all right?"

Kikyo pulled away and quickly straightened herself out, "Yes, please forgive me."

Kagome laughed and pulled her back into a hug, "I'm glad to see you to."

"Did he hurt you?"

"No, I'm fine."

"We should be going home."

"No one's going anywhere until I have that jewel," interrupted a loud voice.

Kagome stepped away from her sister's grasp, "Hey, Inuyasha," she smiled, starting towards the hanyou who was perched on the Sacred Tree.

He looked at her coldly, "Don't 'hey' me."

She stopped, confused, "What?"

"Who were you talking to just now?"

She blinked, "Um…I don't know…"

"Liar!" Inuyasha jumped from the tree, anger filling his golden eyes.

"Wait…" Kagome said. That color, and the hair… "were you related to that guy?"

Kikyo looked back in forth between the two, now _she_ was the one who didn't understand what was going on, "What guy?"

"As if you didn't know," Inuyasha said, directing it at Kagome, "are you two lovers?"

"Lover's? I don't know what your-"

"You were holding hands!" Inuyasha cried, pain filling his voice. Kagome looked at him for a moment. He looked sad, betrayed, "you never told me you knew my brother!"

"I've only known you for half a freaking day! How am I supposed to know _anything_?"

His voice got quiet, "If you wouldn't have ran away, maybe I would have told you."

Kagome's eyes lit up with realization. This wasn't about his brother, not necessarily. He was upset because he thought she had left him alone, like so many others. Stepping towards him, she reached out a hand , a sign of apology, "I didn't run…"

"Then why-?"

"My village needs me, I'm next in line to guard it."

"It? You mean the jewel? But I thought Kikyo-"

"She has her own life to live," Kagome interrupted, "so you see, I didn't leave you because I hated you, I left because I needed to," she held her hand out farther, "let's say you and me start over, we didn't exactly meet on the best of terms. My name's Kagome Higurashi, and you are?"

He hesitated, then took her hand and shook it awkwardly, "Inuyasha, just Inuyasha."

She smiled at him, ignoring her sister's angry protests, "Well then, it's nice to meet you, Inuyasha."


	4. Unwelcome

_Chapter 4_

_**Sesshomaru was not happy.**_

_**First, that strange miko, Kogome, had shown up, and now his brother's scent was mingled in the air, along with another Priestess's.**_

"_**Lord Sesshomaru?" came a small voice from behind him.**_

"_**What is it, Rin?"**_

_**Rin turned over onto her stomach, somehow not falling off of Ah-Un, the flying beast that had become somewhat of a companion to her. "Where are we going?"**_

"_**No where, exactly."**_

"_**Can we visit the flower garden?"**_

"_**Be quiet girl!" came the sharp, shrill cry of Sesshomaru's servant, Jaken. "The Lord had better things to do!"**_

"_**Jaken."**_

"_**Yes, milord?"**_

"_**Shut up."**_

_**Rin giggled.**_

"_**Do not laugh at me, insolent little-!"**_

"_**Jaken…."**_

"…_**Yes milord."**_

_**Sesshomaru sighed, today would be a long day.**_

_*******_

_**The two Priestesses and the hanyou walked silently along the path that led back to the village, an awkward atmosphere hanging in the air.**_

"_**So…." Kagome started, but trailed off. How was one supposed to start a conversation in this situation? "Um…so what exactly do you do, Inuyasha?"**_

_**Inuyasha raised an eyebrow, "Whadaya mean?"**_

"_**Like, for a job."**_

_**The two girls looked at him expectantly.**_

_**He shrugged, "I don't have a job, really."**_

"_**Then what do you live on?" Kikyo inquired.**_

"_**Hunting, I guess."**_

"_**So all you do is hunt things all day?"**_

"_**Only if it tries to hunt me first."**_

"_**And what, might I ask, wants to hunt you?"**_

"_**You know. Demons, the occasional monk."**_

_**Kagome gasped, "Monks? You don't kill them, do you?"**_

"_**No," Inuyasha said, his voice becoming deadly serious, "I don't kill humans anymore."**_

_**The 'anymore' part hung over there heads. The air thickened.**_

"_**You'll love the village, Inuyasha," Kagome said with false cheer, "It's a great place to be, everyone's really nice."**_

"_**Yeah…" Inuyasha whispered, a bitterness filling his throat. "Real nice…"**_

"_**What was that?"**_

"_**We're here," said Kikyo, pointing towards the upcoming pillars of smoke. Soon the forest opened up into rows of fields, with farmers plowing them with heavy hoes. When they saw the trio they began to wave, but stopped abruptly when they saw Inuyasha.**_

"_**He's come back!" One of them cried, picking up his hoe and waving it like a sword, "The hanyou's back! He's come to kill us all!"**_

"_**No! No!" Kagome shouted, waving her arms frantically, " It's fine! He's with us!" But the men ignored her pleas and began picking up their own tools, going straight towards the half breed. **_

"_**Get away from here!"**_

"_**We told you to never come back!"**_

"_**Go away, you monster!"**_

_**Inuyasha stood in the center of the crowd, eyes covered by his hair. He stood calmly, as though nothing were happening, but his hands were clamped into fists, trembling ever so slightly. He looked up at the crowd, eyes burning with hatred. For a second, Kagome thought she saw a flash of red go through them, but she was too worried to care. **_

_**Running as quickly as she could, she pushed her way through the crowd, "Inuyasha!"**_

"_**Get back, Lady Kagome," one of the men said, "we'll protect you from him."**_

"_**Out of my way!" She yelled, shoving the man aside. He looked at her, surprised, as she finally reached Inuyasha. Breathing heavily, she trust out her arms to shield him, "Don't you dare hurt him!"**_

_**The crowd was silent, all eyes were on the two of them.**_

"_**Are you alright?" Kagome asked, oblivious to the swarm of people surrounding her. Inuyasha stayed silent, still looking at the crowd with unblinking eyes. Kagome touched his kimono softly. He tensed. "Inuyasha, are you with me?"**_

_**Slowly, the hanyou relaxed, nodding slightly. "I'm fine," his eyes said otherwise.**_

"_**Come on," Kagome tugged on his sleeve, and he followed obediently, finally looking away from the farmers. The men split open a path, and the two silently walked into it. One of the men through a basket at Inuyasha's back, and the half-demon turned around abruptly, growling from somewhere deep in his throat.**_

"_**Inuyasha," Kagome pulled on his sleeve again, "I'm here, Inuyasha, you'll be okay as long as I'm here."**_

_**Slowly, he continued to follow Kagome, eyes flickering from every hostile face to the other. They reached Kikyo, who was looking at Inuyasha sadly.**_

"_**Let me taken you to our Lady," she said softly, and started towards a one of the huts.**_

_**Kagome and Inuyasha walked quietly behind, disapproving eyes following them the whole time.**_

"_**Inuyasha." Kagome whispered, "are you okay now?"**_

_**He nodded, a look of absolute despair across his face.**_

_**Kagome slipped her hand into his and squeezed it. He looked over at her, surprised, and she smiled, "I'm with you," she said, "nothing will happen when I'm here."**_

_**Inuyasha blinked, before carefully squeezing back, "I'm sorry," he choked out, resting his head on his shoulder as held back a sob, "So sorry…."**_

_**Kagome leaned into him, "I'm sorry, too," she said back, "for them." The villagers were still there, watching. "They didn't get to know you."**_

"_**They did know me, when I was younger…" he trailed off.**_

"_**You don't have to tell me," she said, though curiosity was nagging at her.**_

"_**Okay," he said, gratefully.**_

_**Holding onto each other as though the world wasn't there, they continued walking. **_


	5. Malace

**Chapter 5**

Kaede stared at Inuyasha with a look that challenged his patience. Here he was, back in the nightmarish hell-hole of his childhood village, and the 'warm' welcome had not been pleasant. On old woman staring at him like he was some mutant spider that needed to be dissected was not exactly what he needed right now.

"So, Inuyasha, what have you been doing all these years?" Kaede said, a look of curiosity crossing her deeply wrinkled face.

He shrugged, not exactly happy with the prying eyes of the Elder, which never seemed to waver.

"Visited any villages lately?"

"What are you implying?"

"There have been some rumors-"

"I didn't do anything." Inuyasha lowered his eyes.

"I didn't say you did."

Inuyasha shrugged, a gesture that said 'let's not talk about it', but Kaede ether didn't care or didn't see it.

"Do you know of these rumors, Inuyasha?"

"Sister," Kikyo spoke evenly, "Inuyasha just went through a very rude introduction to our village, maybe we should give him some time?"

Kaede ignored her, "Do you know the rumors?"

Inuyasha nodded, uncomfortably.

"You know that you look strongly similar to the culprit, except for the eyes or couse, correct?"

"Yeah, so?"

"Do you realize, if this person does happen to be you, I'm ordering Kagome to dispose of you?"

"What?!?!" Kagome sputtered, "You never told me that!"

"I just did. Now Inuyasha, do you understand?"

Inuyasha bit his lip, glancing at Kagome who was mouthing 'I would never', before nodding.

"Good, I'm glad we have that cleared up." Kaede leaned backwards onto the wall of the hut, "I shall arrange for living quarters for you."

Inuyasha looked up, abruptly. "No, no, I'm fine."

"Then where are you to sleep?"

"I have a place."

"Where is that place?"

"Why would I tell you?" Inuyasha stood up, angrily, turning towards the door, "I'm leaving. Thank you for your hospitality." He left quickly, running out into the village. Kagome followed close behind.

"I'm so sorry," she said to him, "Kaede's old and doesn't know how to talk to young people anymore. She usually just asks away and doesn't consider the persons feelings."

"I didn't do it." Inuyasha said, suddenly. "I didn't attack those villages."

"I know, I know." Kagome said, sympathetically, "You'd never, that was a horrible thing to accuse you of."

Inuyasha continued walking, "I'm going home for the day."

"I'll come with you-."

"No," he said, turning back to face, "didn't you just say not to long ago that this village needs you? I'm fine, I need to be alone anyway. Today's been…hard."

Kagome opened her mouth to protest, but shut it quickly and nodded.

"Thanks for understanding."

She smiled, "That's what I'm here for, promise to be back tomorrow?"

"Okay, I will." He smiled back, giving her a slight wave before running off into the forest.

***

"Kagome, duck!"

"What-?" to late Kagome felt the hard blow as Kikyo's bow hit her head, "Ow!"

Kikyo ran over and picked up the bow, "What's with you? Yesterday you would have countered no problem."

Kagome smiled sheepishly, "I'm sorry, it's just, I'm a little distracted. It's almost dinner and Inuyasha hasn't come back yet."

"Let the poor boy rest, the village needs to get used to him anyway."

"It shouldn't be that way, just because he's a hanyou doesn't mean that he should be treated differently."

Kikyo sighed, fixing the string on her bow, "I know, but that's just how it is, they've been taught to fear the abnormal, because usually the abnormal eat us."

"But still…" Kagome trailed off, looking at the setting sun. "Maybe I should go after him."

"Not at this hour!"

Kagome sighed, "Yeah, I guess your right. Maybe he just forgot the way. He'll probably be here tomorrow."

But he wasn't there the next day, or the day after that, or the day after that. For a whole week, Inuyasha didn't show, and every moment felt like a year with out him.

"I think I'll go check up on him," She finally told Kikyo after night practice one day, "Just to be sure something didn't happen."

"Okay, but be quick about it."

And Kagome ran, all the way past the bone eater's well. Soon she broke through the bushes and into the quiet area of the spring. Inuyasha wasn't there.

Tears began to pool into her eyes. Where was he? Why hadn't he shown up after all this time?

"Inuyasha?" she called, knowing he wouldn't answer. "Please, come out." She fell to her knees, the newly-stitched dress crumpling around her like paper. Her cheeks were wet, "Please…"

She looked up at the surrounding patches of water, remembering the night she had spent here splashing in the water, while he had sat in the trees, smiling when he was sure she wouldn't see. But she saw, his eyes had glistened with true happiness, something she hadn't seen since.

She placed her fingers in the water, swooshing them back in forth in circular motions. _If only he were here_, she thought, _maybe I could talk to him about-. _But her thoughts abruptly stopped when her hand became entangled in some sort of plant, a bed of moss or something. She looked down into the water, but saw nothing among the bubbles. Her hand was still caught. She pulled on it, but it stayed firmly in the water, the tendrils of whatever was touching her tightened. Frustrated, she tugged with all the strength she could muster, dragging up whatever was in the water with her. She screamed as she saw it emerge.

A human head, her hand caught in its hair.

Clawing at the hair, she managed to free her fingers. Scooting back as far as she could, she began to hyperventilate. She wrapped her arms around herself and rocked back and forth, hic-upping and sniffling. She couldn't get enough air, her throat was closing on her, tightening and clenching itself so that it felt as if the tissue would tear.

Finally, when she had calmed down a bit, she stood shakily, her hair plastered to her face. She edged towards the spring again, covering her mouth to hold back the sobs. Leaning over, she had a better look at the man. He was a farmer, most likely from their own village, and a knife was clutched in one of his hands. The bubbles had dispersed, leaving his full body open for her to see. Claw marks raked his body, but the ever flowing water of the spring had made it so that the water did not appear red or pink, just a bit cloudy, which she was thankful for as his cloths had been shredded to pieces. His eyes were rolled back in his head, the whites covered in spidery red veins. Mouth agape, his gums had turned a slight grey, teeth falling loosely in two rows. He looked at though he had been drowned and slashed to pieces.

Leaning back, she examined him again from every angle. He seemed familiar…

And then it hit her. This was the man who had thrown the basket at Inuyasha.

"What are you doing here?"

Kagome whirled around, coming face to face with Inuyasha, or was it him? Two purple streaks were across his cheekbones, and his eyes had turned a deep red, the pupils holding a bluish tint. Blood covered his claws. This was not him, there was no way…

But in her heart, she knew.

"I-Inuyasha, did you do this?"

He ignored her, leaning down and carefully looking over the barely-intact farmer. His fingers flexed, as though he wanted to tear at something.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome reached over to him, then pulled back when his eyes flicked to her. She took a deep breath, hoping she sounded strong, "Inuyasha, did you kill this man?"

He looked back at the man, hatred emanated from him in waves, thick enough to touch, "He followed me here yesterday," he said quietly, but it came out like a growl, something inhuman, "He had a knife, he stabbed me several times."

It was then that she noticed the stains on his kimono, the long cuts that were layered in dry blood.

"I thought I was going to die…but I…" He stayed silent for a moment, reliving something in his mind, "I killed him, somehow. I was dying one moment, and then I…killed him."

"Do you remember how?" Kagome whispered delicately, afraid to upset him.

He nodded slowly, but didn't say anything. Fangs hung over his lips to a sharp point. They hadn't been like that before. He looked as though he had a permanent scowl.

"Will you tell me?"

Inuyasha's ears went flat, he breathed deeply, but it took him a few minutes to speak, "I tore him apart," he hissed, "I kept tearing at him and tearing at him, but he wouldn't die. I cut him over and over, my claws dug at him, but he _wouldn't die. _He just went on screaming. So I threw him in the water, and watched him drown."

Kagome shuddered at the horrible image. What had happened to awake this beast?

"Inuyasha, I need you to come back to me." She put a hand on his kimono, but he showed no sign of recognition, "Inuyasha, come back," she pleaded.

"You weren't there," he said, silently, "you said nothing would happen as long as I was with you, so why…?"

"You left the village," Kagome pointed out.

"You weren't there," he repeated, hate easing into his voice. His hands flexed, "I was alone, and was almost killed. I could have died. You promised me, everyone always promises me, but no actually does anything. I have to fend for myself. Kill or be killed. No one looks out for me, no one."

"Inuyasha, that's not true. I-."

"It's your fault!" he growled, turning to face her. His eyes were slits. There was no humanity in his face. "All of it! Why didn't you come?" He grabbed her, digging his claws into her skin, "You weren't here!" She cried out as his claws dug in deeper, blood seeping out and staining her dress in a way that it would never be clean again.

"Inuyasha, let go! You're hurting me! Please, let me talk to you, Inuyasha!"

"I WAS ALONE!" He yelled, suddenly, and she saw tears pool into his eyes, the red lightening for a moment, just a moment, "I'm always alone…" he cried, and released her, collapsing in a broken heap. She felt his guilt, the pain he was feeling through killing what he said he didn't kill, the pain at betraying himself.

She put her arms around his shaking body and squeezed him tightly, her own eyes full and bursting, "You aren't alone now," she whispered, "not anymore." She kissed the top of his head gently, soothingly, trying to play the mother he so desperately needed all these years, and she felt him stop crying, allowing her to stroke him and whisper in hushed tone that she would always, always watch him, that he would never have to become this monster again. Soon he wrapped his own arms around her, and comforted her the way a father should, the way she had needed to be treated.

"I'm sorry, Kagome," he said to her, "I'm such a terrible person."

"But you are a person, that's all that matters." She cuddled into him, getting as close as possible, "I won't tell anyone, as long as it doesn't happen again."

He looked at her with golden eyes, hand caressing her cheek, "I promise."


	6. Deception

_**Chapter 6**_

"Are you sure you two have no idea where Takeshi went?" Kaede asked, eyeing the two teenagers suspiciously.

Kagome shook her head, the word 'no' caught in her throat. She had never before lied to Sister Kaede, but this was important. In this situation, the truth could kill.

"And you, Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha also shook his head, eyes glazed over. He wasn't really there, just a hallow shell of a person full of guilt. The night tormented him. He constantly had nightmares of the man coming up from the bone eater's well, where Kagome and him had hid the body, the gnarled corpse dragging him down into the abyss. Would he ever be able to sleep again?

Kaede folded her arms across her chest, "Well then, you best be off. Kagome will show you your chores."

They both stood, thankfully, walking out of the hut.

"I think she suspects us." Kagome whispered.

Inuyasha shrugged, he didn't care, he almost wanted to be caught.

"Come on, lets go help the farmers," she tugged on his kimono, which had been stitched and cleaned up. Unfortunately, her dress had not been so lucky.

"I'm sorry," Inuyasha said for the one hundredth time, looking over the plain brown peasant outfit Kagome now wore, "your father gave that to you, and I ruined it."

"Think nothing of it, I'm fine with this," she pinched the fabric, "even if it is kind of itchy."

Inuyasha smiled a little, "You look good in it."

Kagome blushed, "Really?"

He nodded and Kagome's face became redder.

"C-come on," She said, nervously, tugging at his sleeve, "let's go."

Soon they reached the fields, where the farmers were working as hard as ever with loads of plants tied to their backs in baskets. A few looked over at them quietly, but didn't rush at them like they had the first time.

"I still don't think they like me." Inuyasha whispered.

"Give them time, they'll see how good you can be." she walked over to one of the men, nodding politely and chatting with him. She returned to Inuyasha with two baskets in hand, "This one's yours," she said, holding it out.

He took it, hesitantly, aware of the eyes watching him, "Thank you," he said to the man, who nodded sharply before returning to him work. The rest of the farmers followed his example and stopped gawking.

"You'll work on the fruit trees," Kagome said, pointing towards a small orchard near the end of the fields, "and I'll do the bush berries."

"But I thought those were poisonous."

"Not to eat, silly, they're for medicine. You know, cuts, scrapes-."

"Claw marks," Inuyasha said in a hushed tone.

"I'm fine, Inuyasha, really. It wasn't bad, look," she rolled up one of her sleeves to reveal a long thin line that had scabbed over, "see? It's already healing. Now hurry! Kikyo will throw a fit if I have to miss practice because I didn't meet the quota." They both ran to the orchard.

"Pick from these," Kagome instructed, pointing to a few pear trees, "even if they're a bit rotten, the good parts can be saved." She walked over to a bush and began pulling off little red berries.

Inuyasha reached up and grabbed a large green pear, throwing it into his basket, "How many should I take?"

"Enough to fill the basket, but not to much. We don't want it to spill and bruise the fruit," she picked off another berry, her basket barely showing any sign of filling.

"Do you want me to do that? It seems like it will take a lot longer than the pear picking."

Kagome shook her head, "No, it's your first day. I don't want you to feel over worked." She threw in another handful.

"Okay, just let me know if you need help."

"I will."

They worked in silence, carefully filling their baskets. Inuyasha was the first done, so he set to work helping Kagome finish off her chore, though she was reluctant at first. When they were done, they took their two baskets and headed back to the village.

"So do you do this every day?" Inuyasha asked, switching his basket to his other hand.

"No, in the winter I work in the forest with the others, helping them hunt and get wood."

"That doesn't seem like the kind of thing a women should be doing."

"We don't have a lot of men in our village, so us girls usually share the same work the men do. It's a part of life, and if we didn't our village would die out."

Inuyasha sighed, "This place sure has changed."

Kagome looked over at him, "That's right, you used to live here, didn't you?"

Inuyasha shook his head, "No. I didn't live here, I just visited to get food and stuff. Mother was a seamstress, and she would always be making dresses and kimonos in exchange for food. But everyone mostly made their own cloths, so it was hard to get by."

Kagome walked closer, leaning her head against his shoulder, "You must have been very lonely, out in the woods with only your mother."

"I got used to it," he said, quietly, "I've been alone for awhile now."

"Kagome!"

Kagome turned around to see Kikyo running behind her, carrying her own basket of some kind of crop, "Kagome, Kaede wants to see you!" she said, meeting up with them, "It's important, she said to come right away."

Kagome looked over at Inuyasha, apologetically, "Sorry about this, mind taking my basket?"

Inuyasha nodded, taking it from her, "I'll see you tomorrow, 'k?"

"Aren't you going to stay for dinner?"

"Not hungry, I'll be fine."

"Okay," She said, eyeing him over carefully, "don't do anything rash." she whispered, before running off towards Keade's hut.

"What did she mean by 'rash'?" Kikyo asked, cocking her head to the side.

"Nothing," Inuyasha said, not looking back at her as he continued to walk.

"Hey! Wait up!" Kikyo cried, wondering what had upset him.


	7. Newcomers

_**Chapter 7**_

Kagome tapped lightly on the side of the hut, "Keade, may I come in?"

"Yes, child, hurry."

She walked in quietly, the old women still leaned against the wall as though she had never moved. A man and a women stood off to the side, looking at her skeptically.

"Sit, Kagome," Keade instructed. She sat.

"Is this her?" The women asked, raking a nervous hand through her brown ponytail. Something that looked like a large boomerang was in her other hand, she clutched it tightly when she noticed Kagome staring.

"Yes, Sango. You and Miroku will guard this one."

Kagome rose an eyebrow, "Guard me? Who do I need protection from?"

Keade looked at her gravely, small eyes looking into her own with such ferocity the miko had to look away, "From Inuyasha."

Immediately Kagome looked back up, "What? Why? He hasn't done anything."

"Do not lie to me, Kagome. The body has been found."

Kagome gasped, then quickly hid her surprise. But it was to late, they'd seen her face, "How long ago?" She whispered, not bothering to pretend anymore.

"A day."

"But this morning you-."

"To see if I could trust you, obviously not."

"Why guard me? Won't the villagers be in more danger?"

"At least they'd try to kill him if he attacked," she leaned over and placed a grandmotherly hand on the miko's knee, "Your heart is too kind, Kagome. You were tricked."

Her cheeks flushed, "I was not! Takeshi attacked him! Inuyasha had every right."

"So if this hanyou came at you with a knife-?"

"Now you're just twisting my words."

The women named Sango swung her boomerang-thing onto her back (A/N: I know what it's called, but Kagome doesn't), "I want to go over the villager, ask around about our target."

Keade nodded at her and she and Miroku left to gather information.

Kagome was silent.

"Here, take this," said the old women, holding out a rusty sword, "Its name is tessaiga , give it to Inuyasha."

She took it, giving is a quick glace-over, "What's it for?"

"It's to seal of Inuyasha's demon blood. Make sure he always have it. Be very clear to him you want him to keep it."

"What happens if he lets it go?"

"Let's hope we never have to find out."

Kagome tucked the sword under her arm and stood, brushing back her hair, "I'll be going then." She was almost out the door before the dreaded words left Keade's lips.

"Kagome, your task still stands. If Inuyasha kills again, you must destroy him."

Inuyasha appeared the next day, as he said he would. It made Kagome's heart ache just to look at his smiling face. Keade had made her promise to say nothing of her two new guardians. They were supposed to be friends.

"Hey, who are you guys?" He asked.

"Miroku," The man said with false sincerity, "A monk."

"Sango," The women said evenly, barely concealing her suspicion, "A demon slayer."

"Childhood companions," Kagome said quickly as Inuyasha looked skeptically at the two people whose job specifically rotated around killing demons, something of which he was half of, "in a village surrounded by forest we need their protection."

He nodded, sharply, then leaned down and whispered into Kagome's ear, "Do they know?"

"Not a thing," she whispered back, the lie dripping off her tongue like venom.

He relaxed next to her, the smile returning, "So, what are we doing today?"

"Demon hunting," Sango answered briskly.

He blinked, "What?"

"We're checking for possible threats," Kagome explained, throwing a nasty look at Sango for being so blunt. She shrugged, switching her boomerang-thing to the other shoulder.

"What is that?" Inuyasha asked, the question Kagome had been dieing to know since she met the slayer.

"My weapon, Hiraikotsu," She said fondly, "I've had it since I was given Kirara."

Miroku looked around, "Where is that little cat demon, anyway?"

Inuyasha's ears went flat against his head, "Did you just say cat?"

"Maybe you and I should take the east side," Kagome said quickly, tugging on his kimono, "let's go, before lunch."

"We'll see you later than," Sango said, obviously pleased with Inuyasha's discomfort.

The miko and hanyou headed out, not looking back at their new friends. Once they reached the forest, Kagome reached into her arrow holder and pulled out the sword, "Here," she said, "a gift, it's name is tessaiga."

Inuyasha took it and pulled the rusty blade out of the sheath. He looked at her as though she were crazy, "What can this piece of junk do?"

"You know…stuff." Kagome said casually, "I want you to keep it. It's very important to me."

"How so?"

"I, um, made the sheath."

"So why don't I just keep the sheath and throw the piece of scrap metal into the wilderness?"

"Inuyasha!" Kagome whirled around, her face hot with frustration, "Keep the damn sword, okay?"

Inuyasha was quiet for a moment, then lowered his gaze to the sword. He began tracing his fingers along one of the rusty sides that didn't even look as though it would cut paper, "You're hiding something," he said coolly.

Kagome felt a tug at her heart, the suspicion in his eyes digging into her conscience like a knife. But she knew she mustn't tell him. If he found out that Keade knew, he may take off and never come back. He could end up attacking someone again. "I'm not hiding anything. You think after all this I'd betray you?"

The hurt in his eyes grew, "Then explain to me why, all of the sudden, two people with very specific skills show up, skills that are harmful to me. Explain why you're trying to give me this sword, this stupid sword that you couldn't possibly have made any part of yourself. Explain why you reek of guilt."

Kagome bit her lip, her mind working furiously, "I'm just trying to protect you."

"Yeah? Prove it."

In an instant her lips were on his, smashing into him with all the passion and feeling she'd been holding in. She grabbed his kimono and pulled him close, holding the kiss till they were both gasping for breath, "You have to trust me," she whispered, her fingers tracing his cheekbone. She saw the desire in those lovely golden eyes, the desire to believe her, "you have to follow what I say, and don't question it. And here's your proof: I love you Inuyasha. I love you with all my heart and will do everything I possibly can to protect you."

"Kagome…" Inuyasha trailed off, looking unsure, then threw his arms around her, holding her tightly, "I trust you completely. I'll keep this damn sword and put up with your weird friends. And I promise nothing will hurt you. Because…I love you too." They stood like this for awhile, enjoying each others touch, the solidness of their bodies'.

"No one can know about us," she said after a moment, her tone hushed so only Inuyasha could hear, "not yet, to the village we can't be anything but friends."

"I hate this, this whole thing."

"I know, but as long as we don't get caught, we'll be fine."

"I won't doubt you anymore, Kagome. I know you'd never lie to me."

"Of course not," she said, the imaginary knife digging deeper into her chest, practically impossible to pull out, "you can always rely on me."


	8. Market

**Chapter Eight**

Inuyasha was not extremely happy being between the demon slayer and the monk, but Kagome had insisted on it. If they showed to much fondness the two may pick up on it.

"So…the market." Inuyasha said, trying to make light of his situation, "Why are we going again?"

"Supplies, why else?" Sango said, briskly.

"What's your problem?" Inuyasha said angrily, "What have I done to make you so mad?"

Sango stopped and turned on the hanyou, face matching his emotions, "My problem is with your kind," she hissed, "you shouldn't have been born, you are nothing but a freak of nature."

"Sango," Miroku said, putting his hand on the slayer's shoulder, "we aren't her to pick fights. Let's show a little more gratitude towards Kagome's friend." He gave a false smile to Inuyasha, who saw easily through the act, "Excuse us."

"By all means, go on ahead."

The monk put an arm around Sango's shoulder and ushered her to the front of the group, glancing back every few seconds as if Inuyasha was going to rip his head off.

"You sure they don't know?" He whispered to Kagome for the tenth time that morning.

"Yes, I'm sure, they just have very different ideas from mine."

"I'll say, if that Sango girl doesn't kill me the monk is sure to stick a knife in my back."

"Try not to fight with them," Kagome said, "they take a long time to warm up to people, human or demon."

"What about both in one?"

"Inuyasha…" Kagome trailed off and risked holding his hand, giving it a slight squeeze before letting go, "Just promise you won't pick any fights, 'k?"

"Yeah, yeah…"

When they got to the market Inuyasha tied a scarf around his ears, despite Kagome's protests, "I don't want to cause trouble," he told her. But she knew the real reason. He was ashamed of what he was, that these people would be like her village and shun him. They both knew how well that ended, so she didn't put up a very good fight.

"Hello there, Lady Kagome," one of the merchants said, "how are you fairing in this harsh heat?"

"I am bearing it, Hiroshi," she answer politely, smiling at the old withered man, "how is your wife?"

He sighed, stroking his white, wiry beard, "Been doin' better. That demon's been goin' around and it has her quite in a fuss. Can never leave me alone with all her gossip."

"A demon?" Sango said, suddenly intrigued, "What kind?"

The man shrugged, "People say it looks more like a person then a demon---until you see its face. And the ears."

"Ears?" Sango mulled this over, looking over at the scarf on Inuyasha's head, "You don't say…"

Kagome bit her bottom lip, then tugged at Inuyasha's sleeve, "Let's go this way, Sango and Miroku can help sell the fruits we brought."

Sango opened her mouth to protest, but stopped when Miroku shook his head, "We'll catch up later," He answered for her.

Kagome nodded and hurried Inuyasha over to a busy line of people, "What's up with that?" Kagome hissed, "You told Keade you hadn't attacked any villages!"

"I didn't! I've never even been to this village before!"

"Then who did? Someone else who looks like a demon in their face and has ears?"

"He didn't say what kind of ears."

"It still fits you pretty well!"

"Excuse me," came the women who was running the merchant stall they were in front of, "what is that sword you have there, sir?"

Inuyasha looked up at her, then took out tessaiga from his belt, "This? I'm not sure, Lady Kagome gave it to me."

Kagome blushed slightly at the formal use of her name.

"Can you tell me where you got it, miss?"

"Um…it was a gift from someone else."

"Would you be willing to sell it?"

"What?"

The women took out a small bag that rattled with coins, "Would you be willing to sell your sword?" She repeated.

"It's not for sale," Kagome said, wary of the women. Something about her seemed strange…

"I'm willing to pay how ever much, name your price."

"I'm sorry, miss, but we have to be going now," Kagome pushed on Inuyasha's chest. Something was wrong here.

"Come now, child. I'm willing to offer anything," The women smiled, but there was a harshness in her eyes, "I've been looking for that sword for such a long time."

"Miss, please understand-."

"At least let me hold it!" She said, her voice raspy, "I just want to hold it!" She reached across the table separating them and attempted to grab the sword. A white light struck her palm the moment she touched it.

She cursed and pulled back, looking at them with hate filled eyes, "So you've put up a barrier, half breed, very clever."

Inuyasha's hand flew up to his concealed ears, "How did you…?"

"Inuyasha, we must go," Pushing with all her strength Kagome managed to move him and herself deeper into the crowd and away from the dark aura of the women.

"What was she?" He whispered when they were out of hearing range.

"A demon, most likely."

"What does a demon want with this piece of junk?"

"I don't know, I'll have to ask Keade." Kagome cursed silently as the words left her mouth.

"Keade?"

"…Um-I-."

"You're doing it again," He said, his words coming out harsh and bitter, "You're keeping things from me."

"Remember what I said about trusting me?"

"Remember that you said you'd never lie to me? Keade's the one who told you to give me the sword, isn't she?"

"Inuyasha, now's not the time."

"Stop trying to avoid the subject. Look me straight in the eyes and tell me that Keade has absolutely no clue about that man. Or maybe I'll just go back to the well and have a look for myself. I'd be able to smell another human scent down there."

"Please," Kagome's voice broke on the word, "I know I haven't been telling you everything, but that's my job. My village's safety is my top priority."

"So, if it came to killing me to keep your village safe, would you do it?"

"I-I don't know."

Inuyasha shoved the sword into Kagome's hands, "You take this damn sword back. I don't need it." He turned and began to walk away, but Kagome reached a hand out and grabbed his kimono.

"Inuyasha, please it's really important you don't let go of this."

"Why? What's it do anyway? Fry me like that women if I'm bad?"

"No, it…helps with your problem."

"What?" His voice dropped low so no one would hear. "My demon problem? Kagome, I've kept it under control for years, don't you think you could have trusted me now?"

"But, your not always in control. With Takeshi, and before at the village with your eyes. And what would have happened today if this village did the same thing? Before I stopped them, but here I don't have authority. They may not stop if I intervene. You have to take this sword back."

"Just let me handle it myself, okay?"

"But-."

"Excuse me, sir," said a harsh, mocking voice, "May I ask what's under that scarf of yours? In such awful heat it's hardly practical."

"You again," Inuyasha said, turning to the demon-women, "What, do you want to steal that now too? I suggest you back off before I reveal you to this village."

"Not if I reveal you first," She said, happily, hand posed to grab the scarf.

"You wouldn't dare."

"Try me."

Kagome looked around at the villagers, no one had noticed the possible fight yet, except Sango and Miroku who looked more curious then worried.

"Why do you want this sword?" Inuyasha demanded.

"Because, a half breed like you could never use its full power. Do you know what you hold in your hand?" Inuyasha shook his head, "That's tessaiga, the sword made from the Great Dog Demons fang, your father. Honestly, did you really have no clue? Daddy would be terribly disappointed."

"Shut up," Inuyasha snapped.

"What, did the poor little hanyou never meet dear father? Oh, that's right, thanks to your bitchy mother he's dead now, isn't he?"

Kagome held out the sword as Inuyasha let out a low, very un-human growl, "Come on, take it," she pleaded.

"Does the puppy have a little anger problem?" the women laughed, harshly, "You coward, you too afraid to even show your ears and yet you still threaten me?"

"Be quite! I'm sick of this!" Inuyasha pulled the scarf off his ears and through it to the ground, "There, happy?"

"It's the demon!" The women screeched, suddenly, "The demon's back! He'll kill us all!"

The villagers all turned and looked straight at the hanyou. In moments a riot broke out, villagers with clubs and hoes rushed at his with resentment, screaming bloody murder.

"Stop! Back it up, people!" Came Miroku's voice as he pushed his way through the crowd with his staff, "Let's not get to excited now!" He reached where Kagome was and held up his arms, "See? No harm done. I am simply a nice monk who has a very deformed friend, isn't that right, Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha didn't answered, just stared stonily at the crowd of people who despised him. It was like Kagome's village all over again, only worse because moments ago these people had been as kind as to any other human.

"What's up with our little dog friend?" Miroku whispered to Kagome, who was still clutching tessiaga for deer life, "He really isn't stupid enough to attack, is he?"

"I don't know, but we have to get him out of here, fast."

"Give him the sword before he kills everyone."

"He won't take it!"

"Well, that's a problem."

"Hey!" One of the villagers shouted, "What are you doing, protecting scum like him? He attacked this village before, and now he comes back and suddenly it's okay because he doesn't have red eyes?"

"I can assure you, this isn't the demon you're thinking of," Kagome answered, "He has never been here before!"

"Liar! They're conspiring with the demon!" The group of villagers came closer, once again waving their weapons.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome whispered to the hanyou as his eyes darkened dangerously, "You said you had it under control, remember?"

"Kagome," Miroku said in a low voice, "I'm going to create a distraction, when I do I want you to run like hell and get him out of here!"

"But-."

"Get ready!" Miroku thrust his staff into the ground, "Villagers! Your demon is hiding amongst you as we speak! I shall reveal her to you!" He threw a piece of paper with weird symbols on it onto the forehead of the demon-women. She screamed loudly as it burned into her, peeling away her disguise. A forked tongue rolled out of her mouth, and soon a full grown demon lizard crawled out of the discarded human shell. The crows screamed and ran wildly into the village, leaving and open path for the miko an hanyou to escape.

"Thank you, monk!" Kagome said, before dragging Inuyasha away into the forest.

"Lord Sesshomaru!" Jaken screeched as he ran from his hiding place behind the trees, "Lord Sesshomaru, Sukēru was unsuccessful!"

Sesshomaru leaned against one of the trees with a bored expression on his face, "That wench was useless anyway, what did I tell you about getting unstable demons?"

"I am sorry milord, but the women was doing well until the monk showed up."

Sesshomaru sighed and began to sit up, "I am tired of these games."

"Where are you going, milord?"

"Where do you think? To find my brother."


	9. Brothers

"Let's suppose, for a small second, I actually give a rats ass," muttered Inuyasha, ears flat on the side of his head. He was looking very pissed off and rather edgy, but Kagome couldn't give a rat's ass ether.

"Listen, Inuyasha, this is serious. Ether get it under control or-."

"Or what? Keade will pick her fat butt off the floor and-."

_SLAP!_

"OW!"

"You deserved that," Kagome smoothed out her hair, trying to regain composure, "It's times like these I wish I could just snap my fingers and you'd shut up."

"Sorry for the inconvenience."

"There you go again, acting like nothings wrong. You think I want to talk about this? Or that I enjoy the fact that whenever we talk about something _you _don't like you get all angry and closed off?"

"I'm not angry!"

"Says the boy who almost tore a women's head off!"

"That doesn't count! She was a demon! I was saving people!"

Kagome became suddenly quiet, her eyes down, "So," she whispered, "were you saving people when you killed Takeshi?"

Inuyasha was silent, hateful eyes directed at a nearby tree, "I do not need you," he said after a moment, "to remind me of my sins."

"But if someone doesn't remind you, you will forget."

Inuyasha shook his head sadly, "I could never forget, even if I wanted to."

Kagome took a deep breath before gently putting a hand on his shoulder, "Then I promise you, from now on I'll tell you everything as long as you tell me everything. Agreed?"

"Agreed," he said, leaning back against her shoulder, "You smell nice."

She smiled at him lovingly, running her fingers through his thick silver hair, "I love you, Inuyasha."

"Oh my, isn't this charming?"

Kagome jumped at the voice, afraid Miroku had come and found them like this. Instead she saw a similar dog demon to the one next to her, staring at her with amused golden eyes.

"Sesshomaru," Inuyasha growled, immediately to his feet, "what do you want?"

Sesshomaru stepped out from behind one of the trees, his fluffy scarf thing whipping around him like a snake, "You are unhappy to see your big brother? Pity, and I came all this way to find you."

"Hey, you're that guy from before. At the well," Kagome said, managing to stand up, "Sesshomaru? That's your name?"

Sesshomaru's eyebrows rose in recognition, "Miko, so we meet again. How unfortunate."

"Kagome, get back," Inuyasha said, putting an arm out in front to block her from the demon, "My brother doesn't come to chat."

"Aw, I was going to catch up on old times. So how's your dear mother doing? Resting in a grave somewhere I suppose?"

"Don't spout nonsense to me," Inuyasha said, flexing his hands, "Why did you come?"

The dog demon smiled, amused, "Are you really that stupid? I came for that sword your women has."

Kagome grasped her hand around the sword automatically, a feeling of dread coursing through her, "You can't have it, this is Inuyasha's."

"Inuyasha's you say? I'm afraid you're incorrect, that is our father's sword, The Great Dog Demon."

"Father?" Inuyasha said, looking momentarily confused, "Father left me a sword…."

"Not you, imbecile, he left it for me, his _pure-blood _son, not for his weak mortal pup."

"Hey!" Kagome yelled, "You shut your mouth! Inuyasha's just as good as any other demon, and by far better then a self centered jerk like you!"

Sesshomaru gave a short chuckle, "Having a miko fight your battles for you again? I thought you'd have learned that never works."

"Kagome go back to the village, I'll catch up when I done here."

The miko shook her head, "I'm staying."

"You'll only hold me back."

"No I won't," She answered swinging her bow off her shoulder, "I'm a Priestess after all."

"Even so-."

"Are you two done yet?" Sesshomaru said impatiently, "Or are you going to continue to bicker as I cut you to pieces?"

"Inuyasha, this is no time to argue," Kagome said, " How about a compromise? You take the sword, I hide behind the trees."

"But-."

"Here go!" She smiled, shoving the sword into his hands with a false smile, "Have fun you two!" And with that she dove behind the bushes.

"That girl…" Inuyasha muttered with flushed cheeks, "Why's she have to be so impulsive?"

"Brother," Sesshomaru said, a glint of blood lust shining in his eyes, "Give me the sword and I will make your death swift."

"If you want it so bad, why would I give it up?"

Sesshomaru sighed, "Younger siblings can be such a pain."

"Older ones are worse."

"And how would you know?"

"Well, for one thing, I being the younger sibling have never came after YOU to steal your stuff."

"But you're the one who took the sword in the first place."

"Technically, Keade had it first."

"Oh, be quiet. I'm done with this," The demon hissed, flash stepping forward (A/N: Yay! Bleach reference :D) and grabbing hold of his brother's arm. The flesh where his nails touched burned green, "Now let go."

"Never!" Inuyasha yelped, taking a good swipe at Sesshomaru's face.

"As stubborn as always, I see," He said, grabbing Inuyasha's other hand. Inuyasha attempted a head butt, but before he had the chance Sesshomaru's knee was jammed in his face, "Honestly, you're making me look ridiculous fighting you like this."

A thin line of blood trickled down Inuyasha's forehead. He looked up at his brother with flickering eyes. The colors danced between red and gold, creating a dizzying effect. "You let me go." He growled, the tessiaga glowing a soft yellow from within it's sheath.

Sesshomaru smirked, "So you're demon blood has finnaly awakened? After 16 years of tortured existence?"

The sword isn't working, Kagome thought with a sinking heart, Keade was wrong…unless….

"Inuyasha!" Kagome yelled from her hiding spot, "Inuyasha, unsheath the sword!"

"Why should I? It won't be able to handle this!"

"Do you want to protect me of not?"

"Well, yeah, but-."

"Then do it! Trust me, it will defeat Sesshomaru!"

"You better be right," the hanyou muttered, managing to pull out the rusted blade, only it wasn't a rusted blade anymore. It was a strong fang, glowing with demonic power, "What the…"

"So," Sesshomaru said, clenching his claws tighter into Inuyasha's skin, "The sword has accepted you, has it?"

Inuyasha chuckled, "That strike a blow to your pride, brother?"

"Fool, it only accepted you because Father's blood runs through your veins. It doesn't mean it has chosen you as it's owner."

"Someone's making excuses."

"And someone's rather cocky for not even trying the sword out all this time," Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed, the green glow increasing. After a moment her let go.

Inuyasha staggered backwards, eyes struggling to stay open, "What…"

"I see the venom has finally spread," Sesshomaru smirked, "If you hadn't been showing off tessaiga you may have broken free with a less lethal dose."

"Why you…" Inuyasha mumbled, falling to his knees. The tessaiga returned to the form of an old sword.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome yelled, running from the bushes to his side, "Inuyasha, are you alright?"

"K-Kagome," Inuyasha whispered, falling into her lap, "R-run away…don't…."

"Aw, he's trying to protect you," Sesshomaru taunted, reaching down to grab the sword.

"Don't you touch that!" Kagome screamed, slapping his hand as hard as she could. He looked at her, mildly annoyed.

"Miko, get out of the way."

"Not on my life, you bastard!"

"Then how about on his?" He said coldly, "If you do not treat the venom soon, it will make it's way to his heart. Your lover will die in your arms because you were too selfish to give up a simple weapon."

Kagome bit her lip, looking down at Inuyasha's barely opened eyes.

"_If Inuyasha kills again, you must destroy him…"_

"I…can't…" She bit her lip in frustration. Without the sword Inuyasha's demonic nature would take over. With the sword he'd lose his life to the venom.

"Are you really so afraid of him?" Sesshomaru whispered, "That you'd risk his life so he couldn't take your?"

"No! That's not it," Kagome said, silent tears pooling into her eyes, "You don't understand anything. Don't act like you know me."

"Oh, but I know your type. You hide things, lie, try to make everything okay by pretending it never happened. Have you even told him of his dear mother's death?"

"M-Mother?" Inuyasha said, wide-eyed, "S-She's really…dead? He…wasn't lying…?

"Inuyasha, now's not time, I'll tell everything later."

"L-liar," he hissed before finally giving into unconsciousness.

Sesshomaru gave a victory smirk and once more reached down to take tessaiga, but a split second before he could touch it, a yellow light burst from the blade, enveloping his hand in smoldering sparks. He pulled his hand back, seeming unfazed as the light dimmed, but there was anger hidden in his eyes.

"So, father wishes for me not to have the sword," He said, coldly, "Even after death, he still gives everything to my brother," he turned away towards the woods, glacing back with a hate filled glare, "I'll be leaving you then. But don't worry, I'll be back to take Inuyasha's head soon- if he doesn't succumb to the venom. Farewell strange miko, I hope to see you drenched in blood…"

Kagome watched him melt into the forest, herself shivering with fear at his words.

"You have to be stronger by then," she whispered to the unconscious hanyou, "And I must be too…"


	10. Venomous

"How is he?" Kagome asked, anxiously leaning over Inuyasha's venom-infected body.

Keade squeezed out a rag, folded it, and laid it on his forehead, "He will survive, but just barely."

From the other end of the small hut, Sango made a disapproving noise. A small white cat with a black tipped tail lay in her lap, purring noisily. Miroku sat in the opposite corner, staring at his covered right hand intensely.

Keade reached into her dress pocket, taking out a beaded necklace and handing it Kagome, "Give them to Inuyasha when he wakes up, convince him to wear them, lie if you have to. No matter if he hasn't killed, yesterday was too close for comfort. These beads are enchanted, they shall suppress him if you use the word of subjugation."

"Word of subjugation?" Kagome said, closing her hand around them, "I couldn't do such a thing to him. Besides, we promised, no more secrets. Although, after finding out about his mom I don't know if he'd trust me anyway."

Keade's eyes widened, "He found out? But how?"

"When Sesshomaru attacked. He's quite the talker," Kagome said, bitterly.

"That is unfortunate," Keade sighed, "I was hoping to wait for the right moment."

"You should take these back," Kagome said, holding out the beads, but Keade pushed them back.

"Just incase," the old women smiled, putting her hands over Kagome's, "Just incase. Now why don't you go help the villagers with the chores? I have a matter to discuss with Sango and Miroku."

Kagome nodded, obediently getting up, giving a slight curtsey, and fleeing from the room. But she stayed close to the doorway, not planning on missing a word.

"So," Keade said, evening, a slight hint of impatience easing into her voice, "What have we found?"

Kagome peeked around the corner, grateful for the darkness of early morning. A sliver of light shown on her face, but the cloth that served as their door masked her form view.

Sango was nervously petting the cat, which Kagome was betting was Kirara, staring at her partner with a hopeful look, "Miroku was with him, he saw the women."

Miroku shook his head, "It wasn't him."

"Oh, really?" Keade said, her eyebrows lifting slightly in surprise, "Then how did she know so much?"

"Sesshomaru probably told her."

"And how did he find out?"

"I don't know," Miroku said, frustrated with himself, "Why is it so important that they knew of Lady Izayoi's passing? Is it not common knowledge to this village?"

"To this village, yes," Keade agreed, "But to neighboring ones, no. And I highly doubt Sesshomaru was keeping tabs on his brother after their father died. Someone told him for some reason, knowing it would upset Inuyasha to hear such a thing."

Sango looked troubled, her partially gloved hands moving furiously across Kirara's back (who was starting to get annoyed), "How could the half-breed not know his own mother's death?"

There was a silence in the room as Keade mulled something over, debating with herself whether to share Inuyasha's history or not, "He…knows, in a sense."

Sango's curiosity peeked, causing her to lean forward in her streatcy black and pink demon hunting outfit, "How so?"

"He has…blocked it off, along with other unpleasant things."

"Unpleasant things? Such as?" Miroku inquired. He too had developed an interest in the hanyou he'd eventually have to destroy. And he would be destroyed. After all, there was no such thing as a good demon, except for maybe Kirara.

Keade took her time, picking up the cloth on Inuyasha's forehead and returning it to the semi-warm water to soak, "You both know of the rumors, I presume?" Both of them nodded, "Inuyasha is being accused of some things…some things he is more then possible of doing, and the description of the attacker is pretty close. But there is one thing that does not fit: the eyes. The red eyes and the merciless bloodlust. Those two things are what have kept me from having him disposed of immediately."

Red eyes? Kagome thought, heart pounding. Red eyes and bloodlust? Haunting memories filled her head: Blood soaked cloth, murky water, a body torn to shreds.

Had Inuyasha….? Could he really have….?

But no, they had promised each other no more lies, and Inuyasha was the one who had gotten so upset over her…um… 'forgetfulness'. If anyone was to be questioned, it should be her, not him.

Miroku furrowed his brow, "But I… witnessed something."

"Yes?"

"The sword that suppresses his demonic nature…it also suppresses a sort of…transformation," Miroku shook his head, grasping for the small details in his memories, " For a small second, his eyes darkened. But Kagome had dragged him away before it went any farther. I don't know what I would have witnessed, but it was defiantly not the organized attack you were thinking of, Lady Keade. It seemed more-forced. Almost like he was fighting himself."

Keade mulled this over for a moment, "A transformation you say? That darkens his eyes?" she rubbed her chin thoughtfully, "I will have to ask Masao about this. He is the only one who was in constant contact with Inuyasha as a child. To say the least… he was a bully. But the man hasn't talked in years. One day when he was little he just-stopped. Like anything he said was of no use, had no value, no meaning," she sighed, "He lives in the woods, near the well. Kagome should know the way."

"Kagome?" Miroku inquired.

"At the door," Keade said, her lips threatening to form a smile, "I knew she wouldn't leave, but I figured it would be easier for you two to converse without her presence."

Kagome's face reddened as she stepped in through the doorway, "My apologizes," she mumbled, not looking anyone in the eye.

Keade gave a short chuckle, "Trust me, Sister, you would have heard much less had you been present. You tend to jump to conclusions…and voice your opinion regularly."

Kagome's blush deepened as Sango and Miroku held in snickers. Kirara purred noisily, almost as if she was laughing too in her own strange way.

Keade's eyes crinkled as she smiled at her embarrassed Sister, "You best be off. I will tend to Inuyasha while you are gone."

Kagome nodded before quickly heading out the door, her face the scarlet and getting darker by the minute. Miroku and Sango were close at her heels, silent laughter lifting up to Kagome.

Kagome cursed under her breath. If Keade was anyone, but herself she'd be in for a world of trouble. But due to status she had all the authority to publicly embarrass a Sister of lower rank.

Still, being laughed at was never fun.


	11. Brutality

Masao's home was, in Kagome's opinion, a dump. The lawn was littered with trash, and the walls were dirt-caked and termite infested. The place was huge, though, almost like a castle, and had obviously once been a beautiful home.

Miroku whistled in slight surprise, " I'd assumed this guy was going to be some poor beggar, but judging from size I'd say he was at least a Lord at some time or another. Or maybe his father was, judging by the age of the house."

"You can tell he was a Lord by just looking at his place?" Kagome said.

Miroku gave a mischievous smile, "I've spent my share of nights in mansions, and with my business prices can be quite high."

"He means he's a con artist," Sango said, shaking her head in disgust, "He tricks the rich into believing they need an exorcism, then collects his money."

"Con artist?" Miroku said, "I wouldn't go that far. I'm more of a-."

"Pervert," Sango cut in, " He's also a pervert. Watch out for his hands."

Kagome eyed the monk suspiciously, "So this is the holy man Keade put her trust in?"

"Holy man?" Sango laughed, "There isn't a holy thing about the way he looks at women."

A loud noise from the house made them all turn abruptly. Staring at them from the rickety old porch was an old man with small black eyes and a crooked nose. Kagome blinked and looked twice. The man looked so familiar, and yet she could not place his face, " May I help you?" He said in a raspy voice.

"We are looking for Masao!" Miroku yelled, as though he thought the man were deaf, "Are you him?"

"Stop your shouting!" The old man hissed, "Of course I'm not! Do I _look_ like a Lord?" He gestured to his plan brown servant attire.

So, Masao is a Lord, Kagome thought, a tiny bit surprised that Miroku could tell who someone by their house, but not their clothing.

"My apologizes," Miroku said in a quieter tone, "May we speak with the Lord?"

The man eyed them suspiciously, "You want to _speak to him?"_

"Yes," Sango said with annoyance, "Is there a problem with that? Or is the old goon still too stuck up to talk?"

The man squinted at them, taking in there appearances, "You must not be normal people to speak with such manners, and obviously you do not know the Lord if you think he is just pretending not to be able to talk."

"What else could it be? Is he mute?" Sango asked.

"No, no," the old man shook his head, "He isn't capable of talking."

"What not?" Kagome inquired.

"He has no tongue."

Kagome blinked in silent shock, " No tongue? How did that happen?"

"He cannot say."

"How come?"

"Because he doesn't have a tongue idiot!"

"Oh," Kagome said, feeling foolish, "Well, can't he write?"

"No, his hands…well, they do not work."

"Couldn't he spell in the dirt with his feet or something? If he really was desperate enough he could."

"He cannot do that either. He has not control over his legs."

"Then what does he _do_?"

"Sits, waits."

"For what?"

"For someone who has 'the gift' to some."

" 'The gift?'" Kagome inquired, cocking her head at the short, grey-haired man.

The man nodded, "He awaits for the one who can read souls to appear."

"Read souls?"

"Yes, only those pure of heart read souls," there was a casual, almost too casual, tone too his voice, "Would you dare to try?"

"Dare?" Sango snorted, "Are you saying we can't?"

The man gave a mischievous smile, "No one else can, why should you?"

Sango put a hand on her hip, "Is that a challenge?"

"Of course," The man said, waving a hand into the opened doorway. Pitch blackness lay inside. There was no light. "Would you dare to try?" He repeated in a soft whisper.

"Come on," Sango said, stalking up to the door, "We're going in."

Miroku chuckled, following close behind. Kagome held back, looking at the hunched over old man who still had that morbid smile on his face, as though he held the key to all their questions, but that the answers were not at all pleasant.

"Coming, dear?" He called softly, waving her towards him.

Kagome took a step back, a feeling of dread coursing through her. Though it was only a few hours after noon, the sky was dark, the wind was whistling, and the trees shook with the threat of collapsing.

"Best go in, dear," The man said, knowingly, "A storm looks to be brewing."

Kagome felt much safer outside then she knew she would inside-but Sango and Miroku were already inside, and she had no doubt they'd be out to fetch her in a moment. She took in a shaky breath, pushing her fear deep down inside her, and rushing foreword in an almost-run.

"Good choice, dear," The man said as she entered the blackness. The sliding door inched too a close behind her, a soft 'thump' letting her know it had closed. The man grabbed a candle and began ushering her through the home. She saw distorted paintings on the walls, of frowning demons and cruel looking men laughing with hateful eyes. The wood was the darkest she had ever seen, a brown that looked almost black and was so cold it seeped right through her sandals to her socks. There were so many rooms Kagome lost track of count, and they turned so many times she knew she'd never find her way out. Dark shapes were inside the rooms. She saw knifes, a room full of clothing soaked in suspicious looking red liquid, a room full of animal pelts and heads. She shivered, never having been so terrified in her life.

"Do not look in any room too long," the man whispered, "there are things that may take such a pretty woman as you and devour your soul if you stare."

Kagome make a small sobbing sound and the man laughed, "Joking, joking!" He cackled. Kagome found no humor in this, and the rest of the time she refused to look in any more rooms.

"I say left!" Said a women's voice up ahead, Kagome immediately recognized it as Sango.

"And I say right!" Some else shouted, Miroku.

"Having trouble, there?" The old man laughed as Kagome and him spotted the two arguing.

"We got a little lost after this man convinced me to take a wrong turn," Sango sniffed.

"I told you to take a wrong turn?" Miroku cried, "You practically ran through the house like you owned the place! I had no time to say a thing!"

"Whatever," Sango said dismissively.

The old man chuckled, "Do not worry, we are here anyway." He gestured to a small opening that was lit by a single candle, "Shall we go inside?"

"Of course," Sango said stiffly, ducking inside before any of them said another word.

"She's a keeper," the old man laughed, elbowing Miroku who looked like he really didn't want to be teased at the moment. He followed Sango inside.

"Coming, dear?" the old man said with that same morbid smile. Again Kagome had the overwhelming need to run away, but again she swallowed her fear and entered the darkness. The quiet footsteps behind her told her that the man was following.

A cloaked figure lay in the darkest corner of the room, as far away from the light as possible. An untouched bowl of soup lay at his feet, along with a small tin of water. Kagome could see nothing of him but his hands, if you could call them that. They looked more like twisted tree branches, the fingers all broken and wound around each other in a grotesque pattern. The wounds looked old, terribly old, and she wondered why he had never gotten treatment.

"My Lord Masao," the man said, "It is I, your old servant…Takeshi."

Kagome held back a gasp and looked at the dark smile of the man, the man that could no doubt be dead, "But how did you…?" She breathed out.

His smile told that he would never tell, "I have returned, my master," he continued, "Returned to help you on your quest to find your enemy, and to find 'the gift'. And I have come back with both, my Lord."

The man in the corner grunted, the cloak slipping a bit. Kagome caught sight of his face, and was surprised to find that he was devilishly handsome. He was most certainly came from another country, for his long hair was as golden as his eyes, and his jaw line was so soft that he could not possibly come from the stern-faced men of her village. A small bit of stubble showed on his chin, along with tell tale marks of shaving cuts. Another odd thing, as most of the men ether never grew long enough beards to cut or stayed clean with only a hair or two here and there. He stared at her with his deep eyes, only a tinge darker than Inuyasha's own, searching for something in her face she did not understand. He continued staring at her as Takeshi rambled on about how long he had searched and how hard it had been to stay away from his master and work the lowly fields. Every now and again Masao would nod or shake his head, but that was all. It seemed he truly could not speak.

"Takeshi," Miroku finally cut in, "I had been informed of your death, how is it you stand before us?"

"The Gods, my friend, saw that being taken by a demon was not a fitting end to my life, so they allowed me to live."

"Is that so?" Kagome said, a harshness in her voice that she did not intend to be there. After all this time, all this torment, the source of her uncertainty in Inuyasha lay before her, alive and well. The one thing that had been separating the hanyou and the miko had been this man's death.

"Why do you say that in such a way, _dear_?" Takeshi said, "Are you not happy to see a fellow villager rise from the dead?"

"You will never tell us who brought you back to life, will you?" Kagome said, quietly.

Takeshi smiled, knowingly, "No, I will not, Priestess."

Masao's head rose slightly at the title. He grunted again.

"Oh, yes! I am sorry my Lord, we shall test them now."

"Test us?" Sango said, for once sounding uncertain, "How?"

"Oh it is very simple, all you must do is place you hands on the Lord's."

The demon slayer raised an eyebrow, "That's it? That's all you have to do to figure out if we have the gift or not?"

"Of course," Takeshi said, amused, "What, did you think we'd have to chant and draw blood or something?"

"No," Sango grumbled, and you could tell that was exactly what she'd been thinking.

"I'll go first," Miroku said, "As I _am_ a monk."

"Go on, go on, this should be quick," Sango snorted. Miroku shot her a look at he stepped over to the Lord. He placed his hands on Masao's misshapen ones and waited….and waited….and waited-.

Masao abruptly pulled his hands away in disgust.

"That's obviously a no," Sango smirked, already waiting at Masao's side, "Let me try," she put her hands on top of Masao's, but almost immediately he shoved them back off and shook his head violently.

"And that's defiantly a no," Miroku said, smirking right back.

"You are next, dear," Takeshi said, giving Kagome a slight push. The feeling of terror was stronger then ever and she felt repulsed to even be near Masao, "Don't be rude," Takeshi said, and roughly shoved her in front of the deformed man. She looked into his deep golden eyes and saw the same fear that she knew was in hers.

"I don't…" she whimpered.

Takeshi crossed his arms impatiently, "You must, or you will not leave."

Kagome took a shaky breath, managing to get to her knees. Her hands hovered over Masao's, shaking terribly, "Oh God, I don't want to!" She cried.

"Be quiet, wench!" Takeshi said, finally losing his temper. He shoved her hands downward and Kagome felt her palms touch the cold, rough skin of Masao's. Almost immediately her mind became overcrowded with thoughts, feelings memories, and she was pulled backward in time with enough force to knock the wind out of her. She was standing near a temple in the vision, a circle of children playing ball in front of her. She saw a small, white-haired child run into the group, looking eager to join.

"Inuyasha…" Kagome said in a quiet whispered. How young he looked, how innocent.

"Play?" He asked the group of children.

One of them laughed harshly, "Half-breed!" he said, and pushed Inuyasha to the ground.

The scene changed, and again it was the circle of kids playing ball, and again Inuyasha asked to play and was pushed to the ground by the same child. The scene repeated itself over and over, and Kagome began to see a slight shift. The kids became a little older, wore different cloths, got a bit taller, but they all still laughed and rejected the hanyou.

Eventually, when the children seemed to be about four, the small dog eared boy stopped showing up, and soon the group began to seek him out, making it a deadly game of cat and mouse. Their was always one boy who would find him first, toy with him, threaten him, make him cry till it hurt, and Kagome began to realize who that boy was.

"Masao…" There was a terrible fear that surrounded the memories. She couldn't tell what it was directed at, but it filled the whole place with a sick sense of terror that made her stomach churn.

The game became deadly as more children joined in searching for Inuyasha, and a few times other people found him. But Masao was the one to beat him, always. There was a silent agreement among the kids that it wasn't there place to take that away from Masao, after all he was the child of a Lord.

The children looked about five when things changed for the worst. Sharp stones were carried, small spear-like sticks, even kitchen knifes and forks. Masao carried with him a small golden blade with a dragon on the sheath. He'd wave it about as he searched, showing everyone how rich he was to afford such precious meddles.

The adults did nothing, in fact they helped.

"Aren't you going to be late?" They'd say when he walked past, "Don't you want to go play with you friends?"

He'd simply cower in fear, covering his ears in shame as he went through the streets day after day, trying to sell his mother's precious clothing which was only scoffed at and shoved out of the way.

"We're doing something new today!" Masao said to his posse. They all looked at him with wide-eyes, ready to hear the small dictator's commands, "Today, we bring _him _to _us_!" There were nods and sounds of approval. The group scattered and went in search of the hanyou. They found him hiding underneath the deck of house, shivering in fear as he clutched unsold kimono's to his chest. He had been about to hide them before the dreaded chase began, but today the children had appeared much too soon.

"Come out!" They cried with cruel expressions that couldn't possibly belong to such young children, "Come out, worm! Come out, dirt! Come out, dog!"

Eventually a few of the kids crawled under and dragged him out, kimonos and all. They held both his arms and allowed his feet to trail behind through the rocks. They reached the temple and allowed him to crumple into a heap and Inuyasha began to cry silently, assuming he was going to be beaten again. But no. Masao simply stared and smiled as he cried, his arms folded across his chest.

"Know why you're here?" He asked coldly, leaning forward. The golden blade shown brightly in his hand.

Inuyasha shook his head.

"Because of _these_," Masao said, grabbing one of Inuyasha's doggy ears, "These _things_. Do you know what they mean?" He pulled sharply, "Answer me!"

"I-I'm special," Inuyasha said in a tiny voice, "M-mother said they mean…I'm special."

"Special?" Masao laughed, "Wrong answer. Try again."

"Different?" He guessed.

Masao leaned down close and whispered as quietly as he could, so only Inuyasha would hear, "They mean you're a monster."

Inuyasha whimpered, squeezing the kimonos tightly in his lap.

"What do you have there?" Masao said, looking at the cloths. He pried them from Inuyasha's grasp, "What crap is this?"

"Give them back!" Inuyasha cried, diving for them. But Masao simply stepped off to the side, allowing him to fall face first onto the ground.

"What are these? Did you steal them?" Masao taunted, waving them around so that everyone would see.

Inuyasha propped himself up on his elbows, looking back at his foe with tearstained eyes, "Please, don't do anything to them. Do whatever you want to me, but please leave those alone. Mother made them!"

"Aw, mother made them," Masao said, harshly. He stretched the material as far as it would go, "Lets see how well it holds."

"Stop it!" Inuyasha yelled, rushing forward. Masao tore the kimono in half a split second before the toddler reached him.

"Not too good, not good at all," Masao said, letting the pieces flutter to the ground, "Your mom's a terrible seamstress."

Inuyasha stared at the kimono in silence. His hands were in tight fists.

"That strike a nerve?" Masao tore another one and immediately Inuyasha's head shot up.

"You stop that," He said, eyes blazing.

"Or what?" Masao smirked, ripping another right in front of the half-demon's face. Only one remained, decorated in bright pink flowers.

"Or something bad's going to happen."

"Is that a threat?" Masao said, a tiny bit annoyed. He threw the kimono over his shoulder and walked straight up to Inuyasha's face. He held the knife in his hand, right next to Inuyasha's ears, "These are the things that make you different," he said menacingly, "If I cut them off, you'll be just like us. Wouldn't that be nice of me? Helping a friend fit it?" The blade pressed into the soft dog-like ear, drawing blood.

Inuyasha didn't flinch, "Something bad's going to happen," he said it in a tone that almost sounded like fear, "Put it down, or it will."

Masao gave a deadly smile, one that said everything. The cloth ripped.

In a second Inuyasha was on him, scratching and clawing at Masao with the anger of a rag filled beast. Masao fought as well as he could, but eventually called to his lackeys to hold him. Inuyasha stared at him with pure hatred, breathing heavily and snarling for all he was worth. This was not the same little boy.

Masao got to his feel, wobbling a little. He looked completely shocked. Nothing like this had ever happened to him, could ever happen to him. He was the child of a Lord for Pete's sake! No one would dare touch him.

"You monster," He hissed to Inuyasha holding the knife in front of him like a shield.

"I can do worse," Inuyasha said in a voice that sounded nothing like his own. He sounded deranged, possessed even. Something flashed in his golden eyes. Had they gotten darker in the last few moments?

"Oh no," Kagome said, putting her hands over her mouth, "No, don't do it. Don't do it Inuyasha." But it was just a memory, and a memory couldn't change.

Masao kicked dirt onto the soiled kimonos, angrily stomping and digging his heel into them. Didn't the kid know when to quit? Didn't he realize he was dealing with something truly dangerous?

"Stop," Inuyasha said in a final warning, "Or something _will_ happen."

Masao spat in his face, placing the knife over were Inuyasha's heart was.

"Masao," one of the little girls said, uncertainly, "Masao, isn't this enough?"

"Shut up," Masao commanded, pushing the knife with all the strength he could muster. Blood shot out, coating the red fabric with dark liquid. Something like a scream came from Inuyasha's throat, only it sounded inhuman, animal-like. He slumped to the ground.

"Oh God, you killed him!" Someone cried, "Masao, what did you do?"

"He deserved it!" Masao yelled, wiping a layer of sweat from his forehead, "He deserved all of it!"

The two kids holding onto Inuyasha dropped his arms, backing away in horror, "I've never seen someone die before," one of them whispered.

"Suck it up!" Masao shouted to him, "Just be quiet! I did what I had to!" He turned away from the body, terrified at what he had done, "We have to hide it," He said, his voice cracking, "Hide it where no one will find it. Let's go. Ichigo, you carry it."

"But-."

"Do it!"

A younger boy with brown hair stepped foreword and reached down to touch him, "He's still warm," he shivered. He began to hoist him over his shoulder when suddenly he stopped. Some one near him screamed.

"He's alive! Oh, God, what _is_ he?"

Ichigo began making strange choking noises as Inuyasha slowly began to move, low growling sounds coming from his throat.

Masao gasped as Ichigo fell to the ground sputtering out blood from his mouth as a large row of claw marks bled deeply from his neck.

Inuyasha stood up, lifting his face to look directly at Masao. His eyes were a terrifying red color with blue slits in the center. Two purple marks crossed both his cheek bones and fangs hang over his lips. It looked so wrong on a child, so incredibly wrong. But this beast had been created, not made. Created from years of silent hatred and a child's tears.

Masao was motionless when the demon child came up to him. Inuyasha grabbed both of the frightened child's hands and twisted sharply, causing Masao to cry out in pain as all the bones were broken and pulled from their sockets, turning a ghastly purple.

"You will not write," The demon growled.

A loud crack filled the air as Inuyasha pushed him backwards onto the ground, severing something in his spine. Masao tried to move through the pain, but found his legs non responsive.

"You will not walk," The beast spat.

On both his elbow Masao crawled for all he was worth, looking at his terrified followers for help. But they all just stared, shaking just as much as he was, terrified for their own lives, just as he was. Inuyasha reached down and pulled Masao by the ear backwards, prying a hand into his mouth and pulling something pink and bloody out. The children cried out as they all say what it was-a tongue.

"You will not speak," the monster hissed. It released its enemy, satisfied as the boy withered in pain on the ground, unable to run, unable to hide. He looked up at the shocked children who were edging away from him slowly, afraid to run. A smile played on his lips.

"Worse will happen."

A/N: Okay, just gonna say this:

Masao totally deserved that. The little brat probably would have grown up to become some mastermind dictator anyway.

So yes, that was a way too violent scene for children, but you know what? This is a horror romance story. I needed to get you all out of your comfort zone. (I'm probably gonna raise the rating after that *shivers*).

And if any of you figured it out, this chapter is the one the kind of sort of explains the title 'Monster'.


	12. Smitten

Kagome vomited, tears streaming out of her eyes as screaming children were torn limb from limb. At least five were killed before the bloody scene ended, leaving her empty, hollow. She managed to push herself up onto her knees, scooting away from the puddle of bile she'd spat up. Takeshi looked at her in disgust while Sango and Miroku looked plain worried. Masao was leaning against the wall, head flopping foreword to his chest. Golden eyes, so much like the child's he'd tortured, stared at the wooden floor in accusing silence. He hated her. Hated her so much for making him relive that painful memory. And she hated him.

_Are you satisfied? _Said a whispery voice, and she knew it was his, _Have you seen the monster your friend is?_

"You made him that," she croaked out, her throat raw and scratched. She realized she must have been screaming, "It was your fault."

Masao was quiet for a moment before looking over at her, carefully calculating, _And it was his choice to use that power._

"You are by far a worse creature then he is," she hissed.

Masao's gaze didn't waver, _Are you satisfied?_ he repeated, _Did you find what your friends were searching for? Will you tell them, tell them the truth that will kill?_

Miroku cleared his throat, looking between the two of them awkwardly, "Am I to assume you are talking to each other, or that the Priestess has gone crazy?"

Masao grunted.

"That did not really answer my question."

"Yes," Kagome said, "We are speaking."

Takeshi grinned, looking pleased with himself, "I told you, my master, that this was the one!"

Kagome shot him a dirty look, "Your master is a horrible person," she said, darkly.

"And so are you, for ruining this floor. You don't expect me to clean this up, now do you?"

Kagome rose slowly, stolidly looking at the monk and slayer, "We are leaving," she said, and began making her way out the door.

"Wait!" Miroku cried, "What was it you saw? We must know!"

Kagome glanced back at the hunched over cripple in the corner, his face saying what didn't need to be said. Are you willing to lie?

Yes, Kagome thought, I am, because the truth can kill.

"Inuyasha was almost stabbed to death," she said simply, "by Masao, when they were no more then five."

"Is that all?" Sango asked, seeming disappointed.

"_Is that all?" _Kagome said harshly, "What kind of sick person are you?" She disappeared out the door before she could reply. Miroku and Sango followed close behind.

No one spoke.

"Eh, Kagome? Back so soon?" Keade asked as the miko entered the hut, followed by her two companions.

"How's Inuyasha?" She asked, immediately at his side.

"He should be up any moment now, I've given him some medicine so he may be a bit out of it," The old women said, giving a meaningful look to Sango and Miroku, "I'd like to discuss things with my two guards," Kagome began to get up, but Keade immediately stopped her, "I will go, for once, instead of you," she said, getting shakily to her feet. Miroku grabbed her arm and escorted her outside, Sango following, "And no eavesdropping!"

Kagome gave a slight smile as the curtain fell, directing her attention towards her love. She switched out the cloth on his forehead and rested herself against a wall, trying to think of what to say when he awoke. Maybe the best thing to do would be to bring up Masao, get what was bothering her out. But at the same time the thought terrified, as that would be admitting to him that she believed the memory she'd witnessed was real.

Was it real? She wasn't sure. Inuyasha himself had said he'd kept it under control for sixteen years…but how old was he? She looked down at his sleeping face. Could he really be even over twenty? He didn't look it, but with demons anything was possible.

"What else happened?" she thought out loud, "After all that…after the voices stopped…what happened to you, Inuyasha? And the survivors, who are they? I don't see many that would be your age around here…but again, how old are you?"

Inuyasha's eyes flutter, "Twenty….twenty one…" he mumbled in his sleep.

"What?" Kagome said, abruptly leaning foreword, "What did you say?"

They hanyou's eyes opened a crack, "You asked…how old…"

"Are you still asleep?" She asked.

Inuyasha groaned and rolled over, "Yes, now be quiet."

He's acting strange, she thought, must be the medicine…maybe I could…

"Hey, Inuyasha, are you mad?"

"'Bought what?" He said, some-what-awake now.

"About me not telling you… you know, about your mom."

"Mother…" Inuyasha whispered, "…how is mother?"

Kagome bit her lip, remembering what Keade had said. Inuyasha was blocking his childhood from his memory, or at least the later part of it, "I'll tell you later," she said, quietly.

"Mm, 'k," he said, and fell almost immediately back to sleep.

Kagome got quietly to her feet and peeked out the door, even though Keade had made it clear that this was unacceptable. The three of them were standing far off, hunched in a circle and whispering too quietly for Kagome to hear anything. She sighed and sat back down next to Inuyasha. She made afire and began making some soup with some herbs and vegetables Keade had in a basket. The smell of potatoes and onions quickly wafted around the room. Kagome was comforted by the familiar scent, humming softly while she tried to avoid thinking unpleasant thoughts. The small barrier she had built in her mind that was containing Inuyasha's awful past was thin. Anything could break it and cause the wave of memories to rush into her thoughts. This small bit of familiar was all she could hold onto.

A small rustle made her turn her attention back towards Inuyasha, and she was both delighted and frightened to see him sitting up. His eyes were directed at her, glazed over and looking a bit crazy in the light of fire, but he didn't look mad so much as distressed. The blanket fell to reveal his chest, covered in white scars that were in neat parallel rows. Kagome bit her lip to hold in a small cry. Those scars said everything. The memories were true.

"…Kagome," Inuyasha finally spoke in a soft voice, a voice that sounded close to tears and close to yelling.

"I'm here," Kagome said, quickly pouring a bowl of soup. She grabbed a slice of bread and dipped it in, scooting over to Inuyasha while averting her eyes, "Here," she said, holding the moist bread to his lips.

Inuyasha looked dazed for a moment, as if unsure of how to eat, before taking a small, tentative bite of the bread. He chewed it slowly and didn't say anything when he was done.

Kagome set the bowl down, putting her hands on her lap and bowing low to the floor, "I am sorry," she said an choked voice, "please forgive me for not telling you."

Inuyasha still said nothing. He pulled the blanket up over his chest so she couldn't see the scars, then picked up the bowl and set it in his lap. He held the bread to Kagome's mouth, and she looked at him in confusion. "Eat," he said simply, his voice gaining a little warmth, "it must be around dinner time or you wouldn't have been making food."

Kagome took and bite and swallowed, "Thank you."

Inuyasha nodded and put the bowl back down. Kagome realized that she had just been forgiven.

"…I knew," Inuyasha said, eyes not leaving the soup, "I knew that mother was dead, but I didn't want to accept it. There are things that have happened that I can not remember, and I'm still not sure how she died. I don't want to know. The gaps in my memory are from when I've transformed completely. I'm afraid of what I did when I was younger…"

Kagome put a hand on his shoulder in sympathy, "I know, Inuyasha. About your past."

"My…past," Inuyasha looked up her, a look of fear in his eyes, "Don't tell me, please don't tell me. There's a reason I can't remember these things."

Kagome was surprised. He was truly terrified, "You mean, you don't remember Masao? Or the children?"

"The children…" Inuyasha's voice wavered slightly, "I don't-I-I…" Inuyasha's hands shook slightly, his face twisted in a look of panic.

"Shhh," Kagome said soothingly, "you can get through this. You have to remember Inuyasha."

"Why?" He said, suddenly harsh, "Why, Kagome? Do you want me to go insane?"

"If you forget, it will happen again," she said in a stern, no-nonsense voice. She held onto his arm firmly and forced him to look at her, "Tell me, do you remember Takeshi?"

"Yes," Inuyasha said roughly, "because you never shut up about him!"

"Exactly. If I wasn't there to remind you you'd have buried it away deep in your mind, just like your past. You cannot run from you sins, Inuyasha! Get that through your head!" she was yelling now, angry at the hanyou's arrogance, "We make mistakes! That's how we learn! If we forget them then they will happen again!"

Inuyasha refused to back down, "If I remember, it will defiantly happen again!" he hissed, pulling himself away from her and getting abruptly to his feet. He grabbed his kimono and quickly threw it on, exiting out the door before Kagome could even blink.

"Inuyasha!" she cried, following after him, her hand outstretched even though he was well out of her reach, "Inuyasha, get back here!"

He spun around, eyes blazing, "LEAVE ME ALONE!" he yelled as loudly as he could, before disappearing into thin air with inhuman speed.

Kagome's hand fell back to her side, tears pooling into her eyes. Why? Why did she always fight with him? Why did she press him so hard?

"Kagome, are you alright, child?" Keade said, using her bow as a crutch to walk over to the young Priestess.

"Fine," she said in a flat tone, "Inuyasha's run off."

"I heard," the old women said, patting Kagome's back in a motherly way, "let him cool off for a bit. He needs time to think."

Kagome nodded and allowed Keade to lead her back into the hut, "Where have Miroku and Sango gone?"

"They are staying with a dear friend of mine, Amaya," Keade said, resting back into place against the wall, "Kagome, there is something I have been meaning to ask you."

"Yes?" Kagome said as she began to clean up the mess from the uneaten soup.

"…Do you know anything about the child massacre?"

Kagome stopped what she was doing immediately, "…No, what is that?"

"Sixteen years ago, over half of the village children were murdered around the time of Inuyasha's departure. Masao was the only one who was there who is alive, but he is mute and will not speak. His family refused to say what happened too him, and no one except you and your guards have seen him since."

"How terrible," Kagome said in an even tone, "I am surprised no one has spoken of it before."

"It is a great and horrifying mystery. No one wants to speak of it. Most of those children where boys, which is why we are so short handed. But Miroku has brought something into the light. He says that you were able to speak with Masao, who is apparently disabled in a number of ways."

"He is," Kagome said, "and I was able to speak with him, but he had nothing to say."

"Sango tells me he spoke of injuring Inuyasha."

Kagome cheeks flushed, "He didn't speak it, I witnessed it!"

"He showed you his past?"

"Yes," Kagome spat, "It is because of him Inuyasha is this way."

Keade raised an eyebrow in question, "The way he is? Do tell."

Kagome bit her tongue, cursing herself for even hinting there was more to the story, "Masao is the monster," she said, "Inuyasha has done nothing that no one didn't deserved." She stormed away, determined to let Keade sulk since the noisy woman still had no idea what Kagome was talking about, but something stopped her…

"Fire!" someone yelled, "Fire in the sacred temple!"

Kagome swung around, watching as a column of smoke rose up over the temple. An even aura filled the air with wickedness, and a purple miasma floated around with evil intent, "Every one inside!" she yelled to the villagers, "This mist is poisonous!" The villagers obeyed immediately, taking their young and fleeing inside huts.

"Your bow and arrows, Priestess," a woman said, holding the weapons in her hand. There were tears in her eyes, "I am sorry it had to be this way, milady."

"What do you mean?" Kagome asked, but the women simply shoved the bow and arrows into her hands, disappearing into the thinning crowd.

"Kagome!" She heard her sister's voice. Kikyo arrived next to her, breathing heavily, "Kagome! It's him!"

"Who?" Kagome said with alarm. Her strong sister looked broken in the firelight, tears collecting in her eyes.

"Kagome…I'm so sorry…" she whispered, "Inuyasha…he…."

Kagome's eyes went wide with understanding, "No…he-he didn't…"

"Kagome," Kikyo's voice was once more the voice of a Priestess. She wiped the tears out of her eyes and stood up straight, "Kagome, Inuyasha attacked several villagers…they're dead."

The words sunk in, heavy on the shattered miko's heart. Kagome's breathing became uneven. It couldn't be true, it just _couldn't._

"Kagome!" Keade cried, "My word stands!"

Kagome looked up, Keade's words ringing in her head.

"_If Inuyasha kills again, you must-."_

"NO!" Kagome screamed, "I WON"T DO IT!"

"Kagome! He has been using you!" Kikyo said, grabbing her sister by the shoulders, "He was after the jewel this whole time! It was all a ruse!"

"No, not him," Kagome said, doubt filling her eyes. Hadn't that been the reason he took her in the first place? A hostage to get the jewel. Something that could be bargained and given away. That was what she had been. But she had changed, she knew he had. Light had been brought into eyes and he had finally opened up to her. But then again, this was the village that had shunned him and taken everything away. She was apart of that village and a symbol of its power. He probably hated her, "Why has he done this now?" She yelled, "Why not before? Why after all this time together? After everything we did together? After how much we love-?"

"What?" Keade said sharply, "Did you say love? You were in a relationship?"

"I-I…" Kagome's faded. The truth was out. Everything was over.

"You were smitten with a half-bred?" Keade said, fiercely, "How far has this gone? What have you told him?"

"Nothing, I-."

"Kagome!" The old women shouted, "What did Masao show you!"

"He-he…" Kagome couldn't take this, couldn't stand thinking about the awful memory that was the truth. The truth that killed. The truth that caused her to lie and betray everyone. "The children…he…killed them," she sobbed, "as many as he could. Slaughtered by his claws! All those lives, all of them gone!" she reached out and grabbed onto Kikyo for support, "You were right, everyone was right! Why couldn't I see before?"

"Kagome!" Keade said, no sympathy in her voice, "You have a job to do!"

Kagome gripped the bow hard in her hand, "Yes, I will. I promised," she sniffled, her eyes filled with betrayal. How rapidly love turns to hate. How fast truth becomes a lie.

"Inuyasha," she said bitterly, "You will die."


	13. Betrayl

Flames rose high above the building, smoke leaking off of it in blackish gray puffs. Kagome scanned the inside before her eyes landed on the figure that was in the center of the blaze, a purple object gleaming in their hand, "Fire!" she shouted to the archers who did so immediately. Dozens of arrows rained down, collapsing the already caved in roof and causing the figure to jump into the air an inhuman distance. Kagome ran after, forcing her grief down her throat and keeping her focus on the figure darting through the trees in front of her.

"Inuyasha!" she yelled as loudly as she could, but the thief did not slow down.

"Come, Priestess!" she heard a wicked voice, "Shoot me, if you must!"

Kagome's cheeks flushed, "Traitor!" she screamed as she ran, "You bloody traitor!"

The voice laughed darkly, fading into the distance as it gained ground, "You are a fool for trusting a demon!" The voice drifted away completely.

Kagome stopped running, her face red from anger and humiliation, "I will find you!" she cried, "Just you wait, you bastard!"

"Who's there?" Inuyasha said coolly to the dark shadow below the tree he was sitting in. He was still fuming from that stupid girl's idiotic arguments and had been hoping to spend the night peacefully in the woods to calm himself. He'd never admit to Kagome, but he'd been having a lot of temper problems lately, and had found himself swaying in and out of consciousness well before he'd met her. He was afraid that he had been the one to attack those villages, but hated admitting to Kagome that his demon side was beginning to surface.

"Inuyasha," said the shadow, "I come with a gift."

"A gift? What are you talking about?"

"You wish to become a full demon, yes? Here," the stranger tossed something in the air and Inuyasha easily caught it, "Enjoy," it laughed, before disappearing as quickly as it has appeared.

"Wait! Who are-?" Inuyasha stopped when he saw what was in his hand. His demon blood suddenly bubbled up at the sight of the jewel and he quickly set it down on the tree branch, "Why did they have this?" Inuyasha hissed as he tried to suppress the urge to grab it again. The jewel was swirling with a dark substance that gave off an evil aura. What had once been so pure was now menacing, "I have to give this back," he decided, but couldn't bring himself to touch it again. It made him feel terrible just looking at it.

"Die, Inuyasha!" An arrow whizzed past his face and slammed solidly into the trunck.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha yelled as the young miko came into view, another arrow already in place, "What are you-?"

"Shut up!" Kagome spat, "Throw the jewel down!"

Inuyasha looked at the jewel in front of him, knowing if he made contact with it his demon side would surely try and take control again, "This isn't what it looks like!" He said, "I swear! This person came and-!"

"I said shut up!" Kagome shouted, "I don't want to hear any more of your lies!"

Inuyasha blinked in confusion. What was going on?

"Throw it down, or I shoot!"

Inuyasha pulled his kimono sleeve over his hand and managed to throw it over the edge, "There, now can we please talk?"

"Come down here!" Kagome ordered, not allowing any negotiations.

Inuyasha jumped swiftly the ground with a soft _thud._ The jewel was beside him, glinting in the darkness, "What's going on?" he demanded.

"As if you don't know!" She hissed, "You promised me you'd never kill again! And then you go and murder innocent people all for the sake of that stupid jewel! You never even once asked me for it! You're a liar and a thief!"

"I'm not!" Inuyasha said, getting angry himself now, "I did none of those things!"

Kagome was quiet for a moment, her eyes masked my her hair. Something fell from her cheek, twinkling in the moonlight, "I don't…want you to be…" She whispered, "But you killed those people, so you are a-," She looked up suddenly, her eyes burning with hatred, "MONSTER!"

At that moment, something snapped that had already been pulled passed its limit. Inuyasha was on her in a second, anger boiling over as his eyes turned bold crimson. He pushed her to the ground, knocking her weapons out of her hands and growling ferociously.

"W-why?" Kagome whimpered, eyes overflowing despite herself, "Why are you doing this?"

"Because, I'm a monster, right?" he snarled, unable to control his rage. At some point the jewel had gotten back into his hand, pulsing between his fingers violently as it fed from his heart.

"You…you are.." Kagome said, her voice gaining strength as it took on a menacing and bitter tone, "You are not human, and you are not a demon. So you must be a monster."

"And if I am?" Inuyasha growled harshly, stung by her words.

Kagome pushed against him with all her strength, grabbing her bow and arrows and aimed for his heart, "Then you shall die by my hand!" She yelled, "And I shall feel no regret." She released the arrow with all her hate and power, sending a blinding pink light straight into Inuyasha's chest. The force pushed him backwards, pinning him to a nearby tree. He looked at her in shocked silence, his eyes slowly returning to amber.

"Kagome…but, I thought…" his words faded as he slipped into unconsciousness, being held up by the arrow. The jewel fell to the ground and rolled to Kagome's feet. She leaned down and picked it up, continuing to stare at it for sometime.

"It's better this way," she said to no one.

"Child, eat something," Keade said to Kagome who was slouched over her soup, "You must, it's been three days. You'll starve at this rate!"

"I'm not hungry," Kagome said quietly, placing the bowl on the floor and pulling the blanket over her head.

"You can't just lay in bed forever," The Elder said, "at some point you have to come out of this depression of yours."

Kagome stayed quiet, snuggled in the soft wool. If she pretended it didn't happen, if she could just forget his face and numb herself to the pain everything would be okay. All she had to do was sit her until she could no longer remember.

"I'll be back later," Keade said, "Miroku and Sango will be by to check on you later."

"You should send them home," Kagome said, "they aren't needed to protect me anymore."

"You're right, now they are needed to protect everyone else since you aren't fit to do so," Keade stood shakily on her feet, "If your feeling up to it try and do a few chores today. And eat some of that soup while your at it." The old women left, leaving Kagome to her brooding.

"If only I had been stronger," she whispered to herself, "If only…"

This could have been avoided.

"Oh, shut up," Kagome sniffed, "Don't you have better things to do besides poke around in my head?"

Masao laughed, That's no fun. Besides, you have a very interesting mind.

"And yours is disgusting and vile."

Masao laughed again, I take it that you're still not over killing your lover?

"He's not dead, just sealed."

Aren't you worried about him decomposing?

"He's sealed to the sacred tree that transcends time. He will stay as youthful as when he was shot."

So he will live in eternity, dreaming of how his love killed him.

Kagome was silent for a moment, "He betrayed us," she whispered, "he isn't worth hell's time."

Ah, so you think you are sparing him from hell if he is sealed. But what if the seal is undone? Surely he will come after you.

"Only I can break the seal. No one else can. I will die in a few decades and Inuyasha's fate will remain unchanged for eternity."

You are cruel, Priestess.

Kagome rolled over and tried blocking him out. Over the past few days Masao had taken a liking to talking with her and it was driving her crazy. She just wanted to be left alone to grieve.

Oh, come on, Priestess. Are you really this childish? Weren't you the one who said running away from your problems never solved anything? That if you forget your mistakes you won't learn from them? How hypocritical, if Inuyasha could see you now…

"You heard that?" Kagome said, shrinking deep inside herself. She felt exposed to this cold person's presence.

Of course I did. We are linked, after all. You who heard me when no one else could. You who has revealed everything to me as I have to you. We will never again be separate from each other.

Kagome shivered. Never again would she be alone. Never again could she freely think as she wished without worry. From now on, this dark presence would remain with her where ever she went.

Of course, I cannot get rid of you either, Masao pointed out, it seems we are stuck.

"But you can block your thoughts from me," Kagome said, "that's hardly fair."

I suppose so, but it would be so much better if you could block out me. Your thoughts are rather annoying to listen to.

"Hey!"

Masao laughed, how ignorant you are...

The voice faded and Kagome was once more left in darkness.


	14. Memories

_Inuyasha..._

Who are you? What do you want?

_I am you._

Me? Who am I? _What _am I?

_A demon, a powerful demon. Will you let me_ _come with you?_

I don't understand...

_I am you._

I am you?

_Yes._

Where are we?

_Dead, killed by the Priestess Kagome._

I'm...dead...

_Not for long. Will you let me come with you?_

...Will this Priestess die?

_Of course._

...You may come.

Takeshi looked up at the sleeping half demon-well, at least half for the moment- with a bitter smile, "Oh, how lucky you are," he said as he reached up and placed a golden locket around his enemies neck, "If any other person had asked me to do this, you'd have been dead in seconds," he jumped off the giant vines of the tree that had grown after time had past, looking over the hanyou a final time, "I suppose this will be the last time we meet, I have served my masters long enough and have done as both wished of me, although one's wish is about to come undone," he gave a sarcastic salute towards the tree and laughed as he walked away, "I've been given my immortality and youth, I've no need to hold my grudge against you any longer vile filth."

Suddenly the hanyou's eyes shot open, crimson in color and seething with anger.

Takeshi fell back, tripping over a fallen tree branch and landing on his back, "Y-you! You're awake!" He sputtered, "B-but Naraku said-! He promised that you'd be-!"

Inuyasha tore away at the vines, easily pulling out the impossible to remove arrow as the locket glowed a bright, whitish color. He jumped from the tree and landed in front of Takeshi who was cowering in fear, "I seek the Priestess know as Kagome," he said in a surprisingly calm voice, "do you know where she is?"

"S-she's dead," he gulped, "she died many years ago, shortly after you."

Inuyasha's eyes narrowed, "How long have I been sealed?"

"About a century or so."

"I see," he said, lifting a clawed a hand high in the air, "then you are of no use to me."

"W-wait!" Takeshi cried out, "You don't seem surprised by my age, how is that? Don't you remember me? Takeshi? The man you slaughtered over 100 years ago?"

"I'm sorry," Inuyasha said with no sincerity, "but I don't recall my prey."

"P-please! I can help you!" he cried in desperation, "Don't you want to hear of how the Priestess fell?"

Inuyasha lowered his hand, "Really," he said in an amused tone, "fell you say?"

"Yes, yes!" Takeshi said enthusiastically, "I'll tell you everything!"

Inuyasha crossed his arms and sat down, looking bored, "Continue."

Takeshi gulped, knowing that in the very least his body was at stake, and began to tell the sad tale...

"Kagome...Kagome wake up..."

Kagome blocked out the noise in her head, the swirl or thoughts that may or may not be hers, the mixture of tainted past and bitter present. How long had she stayed in this shack, constantly reliving day after day visions of broken children and arrows being plunged into her lover's chest. Who could separate now from then, here from there, time from time.

"Kagome, wake up child!"

Someone was touching her shoulder-or was someone touching his? That vile person who had started this whole mess and was now a prisoner in her mind? What was his name again? She could not remember. And what was her name? Or that demon's name?

"Kagome!"

That was it, that was her name, she felt sure of it. But who was saying it? Who was touching her, if they _were_ touching _her_?

"Child, get up!"

Kagome opened her eyes, a blurry figure standing above her. She couldn't make them out, only their pure white hair. White hair...white hair...

Kagome lurched foreword, grabbing the first thing she touched which happened to be a long, sharp knife, "...But...you're dead..." she said, not fully conscious of what she was doing, "I'll kill you again..." She plunged the knife into the blurred creature, seeing red stain the white. They put up no resistance, and the fight was over before it started. She looked down at the figure, her vision finally clearing so she could see her enemies face, those terrible red eyes...

"...What?" Kagome managed to say as she fell backwards onto her bed, knife clattering to the ground, "What is this? _Keade_?"

The old woman stared at her with blank, dead eyes, a bloody hole going straight through her forehead. Red liquid poured from the would and soaked into the floor boards.

"What have I done?" Kagome cried, putting her face in her hands. How could this have happened? How could she possibly have committed murder?

"Keade, how is Kagome?"

Kagome's head shot towards the door where she'd heard her sister's voice, "Oh God," she whispered. Why now? WHY NOW?

"Keade-?" Kikyo's words were stopped as she lifted up the cloth flap and saw the Elder covered in her own blood, "...H-how did...? What has..." Kikyo's voice shook as she collapsed onto the floor, her eyes unable to stay focused on the corpse. She made a small choking sound before throwing herself onto her once master, sobbing so uncontrollably Kagome was finally pulled out of her shock and tears filled her own eyes.

"I-I'm, I'm..." She sputtered, trying to form sounds with her unresponsive mouth. She crawled forward on her hands and knees, bumping into the tool used to cause the destruction. She pulled her hand away, horrified.

Kikyo looked at the knife, then at Kagome, then back at the knife, tears streaming down her cheeks as she put two and two together, "You..." she hissed her voice trembling with anger, "You!" she walked over to Kagome, dragging her out of the hut and into the busy market place, "You betrayed us!" she yelled, tossing her to the ground, "You killed her! YOU KILLED HER!"

Villagers gathered around, seeing both their Priestesses covered in dark blood. They looked on with worried glances and one another, unsure of what just occurred.

"Traitor! TRAITOR!" Kikyo shouted, kicked her sister repeatedly with as much force as she could muster, "How could you? How could you kill my mentor, our Elder, our _Sister_?"

The words were echoed by the crowd as they began to realize what Priestess Kagome had just done.

"I'm...so, so sorry..." Kagome managed to say through the awful beating, covering her head with her hands as each blow hit, "I-I thought...I thought she was him..."

"You ignorant bitch!" Kikyo seethed, reaching down and pulling up Kagome by her neck. She slapped her hard against the face before throwing her back down, "How dare you! How _dare_ you! That's why you killed her? That's why Lady Keade is dead? You selfish, evil, bitch!" She planted her foot straight on Kagome's head, pushing it deep into the hard soil, "I denounce you of your title as a Priestess and exile you from this village!"

Kagome tried to turn her head to look up at Kikyo, but was rewarded with another solid stomp, "But...I-."

"Get out of my sight, you _monster_!" Kikyo screeched, pulling Kagome up and pushing her into the group of villagers who tore at her cloths and scratched her with sharp nails. They carried the ex-priestess into the forest and tossed her into the bushed.

"Be gone, scum!" They yelled to their fallen protector, still enraged by Keade's death, but feeling too loyal to the girl to kill her, "Go crawl back to your slain demon!"

Kagome laid still on the ground, blood beating our of huge gash in her head from Kikyo's shoes. She struggled to get to her feel, clasping onto the golden necklace around her neck, the only thing left of her father and now her only possession besides the cloths on her back. She worked her way through the forest, past the well, and finally to the sacred tree. She looked up at her loved one, his name finally returning, "Inu...yasha..." she choked out, coughing up blood. She knew the injury to her head was bleeding rapidly at uneven pace that was starting to slow. If she didn't get treatment soon, she could die. But none of that mattered, none of it. All that mattered was that she saw him again, the one who had betrayed her and the one she had betrayed so many times. She staggered over to him, taking off the necklace and placing the remaining bit of her strength into the locket, "If you wear this," she said, breathing heavily, "the seal will be broken, you can...you can be..." she suddenly tripped on one of the tree vines that lay hidden in the grass, landing hard onto her stomach. She raised her hand, clawing at nothing as she tried frantically to get back up. But she couldn't, she had no more strength left, no more reason to keep going on in this world. Her hand fell, and a sad smile touched her lips as tears streamed down her face, "I guess..." she whispered, "we'll both die here. I'm glad," she closed her eyes as she felt herself begin to slip, "I will always lo..." her voice gave out, unable to speak her final words. The last thing she heard was an harsh laugh echoing through her mind.

_Finally_, it laughed.


	15. Possession

"And that is the tale," Takeshi said, eying the demon Inuyasha warily, "Now, my freedom..."

Inuyasha scoffed, "Freedom? Please," he grabbed the immortal man by the neck and held him up in the air, "As is scum like you deserves that."

"B-but!" Takeshi sputtered, "You promised!"

"I did no such thing," His gripped tightened, "If your body won't die I guess I'm just going to have to keep killing you until your very soul does."

"Please! I'm begging you!" Takeshi cried, "It's Masao, he set you up!"

Inuyasha's crimson eyes went wide, grip loosening, "What?"

Takeshi saw his move and spoke quickly, "He conspired with a demon known as Naraku. Naraku is a hanyou that can change forms. He changed into you and then stole the jewel from the sacred temple!"

Inuyasha's face flashed with recognition, "The man, that night..." he said softly, remembering the shadowy figure with the cold voice, "The person that gave me that dreaded jewel..." The golden necklace around his neck glowed brighter and Inuyasha hissed in pain, releasing the frightened man, "W-what is this?"

"That was Lady Kagome's necklace," Takeshi said hoarsely, rubbing his neck, "It released the seal on you. It seems her spirit is still inside."

"In...side?" Inuyasha spat, trying as hard as he could to remove it. Beams of light spread over the string of the necklace, connecting into spiritual beads that burned at the touch. The heart-shaped necklace stayed in the center, the white light turning a deep purple that reflected the color of the beads. After a few more moments the light finally faded, "ow..." Inuyasha muttered, still pulling at the necklace. He felt his eyes begin to change to their proper golden color, but his head throbbed as though something was hitting him from the inside. A voice screamed deep in his subconscious, sounding strangely familiar to his own voice.

_You were the one who brought me out!_ It howled, _Without me your revenge shall never be complete!_

"What...is that?" Inuyasha whispered as it began to fade.

_I'm still here! I won't be subdued for long! _It disappeared completely into the depths of his mind, leaving the echoing threat drifting through his head. The pain finally stopped and he looked up at the frightened Takeshi, staring at him with golden eyes.

"Kagome...is inside this necklace?" He demanded, holding it up so the sly fox could see it.

"Yes," Takeshi answered, getting to his feet, "A part of her soul was transferred into it before she died. Now if you'll excuse me..." The man ran straight into the undergrowth before the half-demon could even say a thing.

"Kagome..." Inuyasha said, touching the necklace, "We were tricked, I'm so sorry. It's all my fault," tears threatened his eyes and the hanyou quickly blinked them away. This was no time to cry. Action had to be taken, "If you can here me, know that I'll find a way to bring you back," he promised, "I swear it."

* * *

"No," the witch Urasue said, carefully molding a piece of clay into the shape of a nose, "Why would I want to revive such a bitter soul?"

Inuyasha curled his nose at the rancid smell of corpses coming from the witch's cave, trying his best to be nice to the ugly old hag, "I'm willing to do anything," he said sincerely, "Please try, I'm begging you!"

The witch tapped her long, crooked chin in thought, "Anything, you say?" she said with a cruel smile.

"Yes! Just promise me you can," Inuyasha said.

"Of course I can!" Urasue said harshly, "But in return I want twenty years of servitude. From both you and the Priestess."

"Make is fifty years from me and you have a deal."

"No!" The witch answered stubbornly, "Twenty years from both or I refuse."

Inuyasha bit his tongue, trying hard to think of a way to release his lover from this debt, "A hundred years," he said.

"No!"

Inuyasha hesitated, "Eternity?"

The witch's eyebrows rose, "Now we're getting somewhere, but still a no."

Inuyasha gave a cry of frustration, "What do you want, my soul?"

"Sure," the witch said casually, "that will do."

Inuyasha blinked, "R-really?" he cleared his throat, "I mean, okay then. So we have a deal?"

"Lets make it a blood oath," Urasue put down the molded nose and pulled out a sheathed blade from her kimono sleeve. Pulling it out of the sheath Inuyasha saw the ancient symbols and strange crystals covering the sharp steel, "This will make sure you don't break off our promise once your lover is alive again."

Inuyasha gulped, "Very well."

"Lend me your hand."

Inuyasha did so, the rough palms of the witch making his skin crawl. She placed the blade in the center of his hand, flat, so that the half-demon could see his reflection, "Are you ready?" she crooned.

"...Wait a moment," he answered, looking hard at his reflection, "What are those? On my face?" he put his hand to his cheek and traced one of the lined that streaked across the bone, "They look like...demonic markings."

"Because they are, idiot!" The witch snapped, "Don't tell me you've never seen your own face."

"Not in over a century," he replied, eyes narrowing as he touched the other one, "what will Kagome think when she sees them?"

"If you don't make the oath, you'll never know."

"Good point," Inuyasha mentally shook himself, closing his hand around the blade and taking a deep breath, "Okay, ready."

"I call upon the gods Amatsu Mikaboshi and O-Kini-Nushi to bear witness to this contract of blood and bind it with your immortal power," Urasue began to pull the knife slowly out from Inuyasha's grip, cutting into the soft flesh of his fingers. The half-demon winced in pain, but held his tongue as the witch continued, "May the hanyou Inuyasha keep his oath of eternal servitude to me, bound by your ancient powers. I claim his soul." She swiftly pulled the blade completely out of Inuyasha's hand and he hissed in pain, "Oh my, this isn't good," Urasue said, grabbing Inuyasha by the wrist and taking a look at the quickly healing gash, "Your blood is black."

Inuyasha blinked stupidly, "Um, what?"

"Your blood, take a look her," Urasue, pointed to the wound where dark fluid leaked.

"What does that mean?" Inuyasha asked curiously.

"It seems you are possessed," she said matter-of-factly.

"What? That's insane! My blood looks fine."

"Let me check again," she painfully pulled the almost-healed wound back apart and allowed fresh blood to pool, "Nope, defiantly black."

"How can I be possessed?"

"Let me think," the witch said, tapping her worted chin again, "did you agree to anything? Maybe something you thought was a dream, or when you dozed off for a bit? Demons are pretty tricky, they'll say just about anything to get a host."

Inuyasha furrowed his brow, remembering when he'd first woken up a few days earlier. He struggled to think of what had happened just before Takeshi had finished telling his story. He barely remembered attacking the man, and anything that happened before he got off the tree was defiantly not remember-able.

But then again, what about that voice? The one he'd heard when his pounding migraine had dissipated...?

_You were the one who brought me out! Without me your revenge shall never be complete!_

The words snapped into place and suddenly Inuyasha remembered the arrangement he had made with 'himself'.

"Question," He said, pulling his hand away from the witch, "Is it possible to be possessed by yourself?"

Urasue wrinkled her already wrinkled forehead, "Why do you ask?"

"Well, I'm half-demon, right?" He said quickly, "And my other half's human. What if all those times I blacked out the demon part was just possessing my human half?

"All those times you blacked out? That sound like possession to me, very poor possession at that if it can only take over partly. But I get what you are saying. A demon and a human are very different, its a wonder that the two can become one..."

"Unless they haven't entirely become one!" Inuyasha interjected, getting excited, "Urasue, is it possible to perform an exorcism to be rid of the demon?"

"If the consciousness is separated and the demon becomes it own being, then yes, I suppose so. But is that what you really want? To be human?"

"To get rid of the monster that caused this mess I'd do anything!"

"But you have nothing left to give," Urasue pointed out, "as soon as your lover is reborn your very existence is mine. And what would I do with a normal human, one that doesn't even have demonic or spiritual powers?"

Inuyasha bit his lip thinking hard, "Would you allow Kagome to do the exercism, even if my soul is yours?"

Urasue pursed her lips, "I told you, I have no use for a regular human. I can get over you having a lunatic demon inside of you. I cant get over babysitting a human all its life."

"Please!" Inuyasha begged.

"No! And that's final!" The witch said, "now come on, do you want to resurrect the Priestess or not?"

A/N: From here on the story may get a little confusing ^.^; I have a habit with introducing too many things too deeply into a story, as you can tell with the confusing self-possession theory I so creatively made up at 2:03 in the morning :3


	16. Rebirth

"How much longer?" Inuyasha asked, shifting uncomfortably in the cold mountain air. How come all the evil people in the world liked high, cold places? You'd think they'd want to live in a castle or something more comfortable.

Urasue threw another herd on the clay doll she had created. It looked remarkably like Kagome, but the eyes were wide and lifeless. The doll had began to breath shortly after Urasue had started the reanimation spell, but it still held no soul, "Almost done, hanyou, be patient. All I require is an item of hers."

"How about this?" Inuyasha asked, tapping the heart-shaped charm attached to his necklace, "A piece of her soul is bound to it."

"That's good, give it here."

Inuyasha began to lift the piece of jewelry from his neck, but the second it went past his chin it glowed fiercely with the purplish light of Kagome's arrows, forcing itself back down, "What the?" He tried again, but the necklace responded just as aggressively, "Hey!" he protested, tugging as hard as he could, "this thing won't come off!"

Urasue looked over at him in disgust, "I need something of hers to continue."

"I know! But this thing is stubborn!" He pulled sharply, but to no avail.

"Then give me something else."

"I don't have anything else!"

"Then go get something else! And quickly!"

Inuyasha glared at her angrily, "And how am I supposed to do that?"

"Do you know where her grave is?"

"I'm guessing at her village, why?"

"Take me there, I'll gather her remains and use those instead."

Inuyasha made a face, "You mean rob her grave?"

The witch gave a cruel smile, "You could call it that..."

"That's terrible! I can't let you defile Kagome's resting place!"

"So you'd rather her stay trapped in death?"

Inuyasha bit his lip, "Fine, I'll take you."

Urasue grinned, "Good boy, now come with me, we need disguises."

Inuyasha followed her back to the cave, giving a fleeting glance towards the empty shell that looked so much like Kagome, and yet so different without the spark in her eyes. Was this what she had looked like when she had crawled to his side, straining to reach him so that he could be free again?

He shivered at the thought, his guilty conscious reminding him whose fault it was that she died in such a sad, sad way.

"Stop dawdling!" Urasue said, mixing a bowl of something that smelled of fish and peppermint leaves, "Now, eat this."

"Why?"

"Just do it!"

Inuyasha quickly gulped down the bitter tasting potion. It _did_ taste like fishy peppermints. Ugh, not the two things he'd been hoping to have together, "What did that do?" He asked, trying to focus on the witch instead of the urge to puke.

"See for yourself," she held a mirror to his face. He gasped at his reflection. His hair had turned midnight black and his dog ears, claws, and markings were gone. Instead he had regular human ears on the side of his head and his once golden eyes had changed to a dark, soulful blue, "You wanted to be human so bad I thought I'd give you the chance."

Inuyasha touched his face in aw, "I'm...human?"

"For now, once the sun returns to the sky tomorrow morning you will be back to normal."

"Oh..." Inuyasha felt sad at this fact, but was happy Kagome may get to see him as a human. If they hurried, "Let's go then."

Urasue drank her own share of the potion and suddenly changed into a beautiful women with hair as dark as Inuyasha's and grass green eyes, "Of course."

"The village looks so strange in the dark," Inuyasha said as they headed into the sleeping town. The sky was completely dark as it was the night of the new moon, "It's been so many years. It seems so familiar, but so different."

"May I help you?" asked an older man who had been patrolling the streets, "We don't normally get visitors this time of night."

"Yes," the young Urasue reponded, "we were looking for your burial place. An old friend of mine passed away awhile ago and we just got word."

"Ah, you must be talking about Tsume. It's been almost three months, such a tragic story," he shook his head sadly, "come, I'll show you the way."

The man led them to the older part of the village that was starting to fall apart and Inuyasha finally began to recognize the village for what he once knew it to be. After an entire century he could still pick out Keade's hut where he had spent many awkward moments with the demon slayer Sango and the monk Miroku. He vaguely wondered what had happened to the pair, but wasn't really concerned since the two had never taken a liking to him in the first place.

"This is the place," the man said as he neared a fenced of patch of land, "Tsume's grave is next to the willow tree. May the gods bless his soul."

"Thank you for your kindness," Urasue said with an almost sincere smile.

"No trouble at all," he answered, "I'll be watching the streets till Daru wakes up for his shift. If you need anything just come find me."

"We will," the witch purred.

The man left them and the hanyou and majo quickly set to work.

"I can't find it," Inuyasha hissed.

"What was here maiden name? Perhaps her grave was labeled as such," Urasue whispered. Inuyasha noticed a slight ripple in her perfect face. The magic was starting to wear off!

Inuyasha looked down at his claw-less hands, but saw no indication of change. Perhaps his spell differed from hers?

"I've got it!" Urasue cried. Inuyasha looked over to see the witch parting a large patch of weeds that had grown to an immense extent beside the willow tree. A baldly battered grave stood behind, looking made out of some kind of shabby stone. Inuyasha felt a tinge of anger that Kagome's grave had been kept so poorly, while the others were in mint condition despite some of their ages.

"What now?" The hanyou asked, bending down next to her.

"We must remove her remains," the witch said, taking out a small shovel from her dress sleeve.

Inuyasha took a deep breath, preparing himself, "Okay, let's get started."

For over an hour the two dug fiercely through hard dirt and weed roots until they heard a solid _thump. _Urasue reached down and scooped out a cloth-covered clay pot that smelled strongly of earth, "We've got it!" she said just as her dark black hair changed back to stark while.

"Um, Urasue," Inuyasha said, tentively, "your hair..."

The majo pulled a strand in front of her eyes and cursed when she saw it, "Damn spell," she muttered, "you can never trust these things to last as long as they should."

"Have you given your respects?" the old man's voice drifted over to them.

"Damn," Urasue spat. She reached back into her dress sleeve and pulled out a knife, "we have to kill him before he sees us and warns the village."

"No!" Inuyasha grabbed her hand, "don't!"

Urasue looked stunned for a moment, then narrowed her eyes, "You are my slave, you made a blood oath."

"The oath only stand if Kagome is resurrected," Inuyasha harshly replied, "For now, I'm as free as any one else."

"If he screams the villagers will come," Urasue argued, "then what?"

"Then we run!"

"This village has two spiritual protectors! One arrow from them and I'm doomed!"

"Give me a second," Inuyasha stood up and walked out from behind the tree despite the witch's protests, "Yes, we just finished," he called to the man, "but I'm having some trouble reading the inscription, could you help me?"

"Of course," he answered, wobbling over to them. He leaned down next to a grave on the opposite side of Kagome's, "It says-." Before he could finish Inuyasha grabbed him from behind and held his kimono sleeve over his mouth and nose. The man thrashed wildly for the first few minutes, but the lack of oxygen eventualy caused him to pass out.

"Now come on!" Inuyasha commanded, setting the man down and sprinting before Urasue could respond. He heard her quiet foot steps behind him seconds later and continued to run until they were safely out of the village. Urasue's spell had worn off completely now and she was once more her old shriveled self.

"How come I haven't changed back yet?" Inuyasha asked.

"You can never tell with these things," the witch wheezed, still breathless from running, "it may take a little more time. But hurry! We still must finish the spell before the sun rises!"

All the preparations were in place. This was it. Kagome was going to be brought back right now!

"The soul may put up some resistance," Urasue warned, "But since you carry part of it in your locket, it won't be hard to call on. The Priestess will be standing in front of you, as alive as she ever was."

"Will it hurt her?" Inuyasha whispered, too excited to listen to the witch.

"It shouldn't as long as she doesn't fight it too much. I have no idea whether this spirit wishes to return or not," she emptied the clay pot into the liquid floating around the Kagome doll, "let's begin." She began chanting under her breath, holding her hands in front of her face in a prayer like position. The doll began to glow a soft blue color, swelling around it as it's breath quickened. It moaned loudly and then suddenly it's eyes shot open.

"Call her name!" Urasue said and immediately went back to chanting.

Inuyasha approached cautiously, peering down at the clay figure, "Kagome?" he said tentatively.

The doll let out a piercing scream that released a wave of spiritual power. The blue glow shot out as fast arrows, whizzing around in the air as the doll continued to wail as loudly as it could. The necklace around Inuyasha's neck burned fiercely against his skin and he pulled it frantically while it seared his skin.

"Her soul is rejecting the body!" Urasue yelled, "But the body has already accepted it! We must-!" she was cut short as a ball of blue spiritual power shot itself threw her chest. For a moment the witch just stared straight ahead, eyes unblinking, when suddenly fire spouted from the whole in her body and consumed her.

"Urasue!" Inuyasha cried as the witch disintegrated into nothing. He turned back to look at the Kagome doll, it's mouth wide open as it continued to scream, "Kagome!" Inuyasha shouted, running forward and grabbing the doll, "Kagome, snap out of it! It's me, Inuyasha!"

The doll's voice quieted the slightest bit and the necklace stopped burning, _Inu...yasha?_A voice whipsered in his mind.

"Yes, it's me Kagome! Now calm down! Your okay!"

The doll immediately became still, the clue orbs quickly returning to it's body.

"Kagome?" Inuyasha whispered, but the doll didn't respond, "Kagome! Please!"

Finally Inuyasha felt the clay beneath his fingers warm to his touch, taking on a skin like quality. The eyes of the doll blinked and slowly she turned her head, "I...I..."

"Yes? What is it?" Inuyasha replied earnestly, "Are you okay, Kagome?"

Tears filled her eyes, "I'm not Kagome."

A/N: I just leaving you guys on cliff hangers, don't I? ;D


	17. Reincarnation

Inuyasha blinked at the girl in his arms, completely confused by what she had just said, "Of course you're Kagome," he said sternly, at though scolding a child, "don't be an idiot. Urasue resurrected you from the dead. I'm Inuyasha, don't you remember me?"

The girl shook her head, eyes wide with fear.

"Oh, is it because of the way I look?" Inuyasha asked frantically, tugging at his midnight-black hair, "It's just a spell, I'll become a hanyou again soon, okay? Then you'll recognize me, Kagome."

"M-my name's Hotaru," she whispered, pushing away from him, "where am I? I was visiting grandpa's shrine and I heard someone through the bone eaters well. Was that you? Did you bring me here threw the well?" she looked down at the white dress she was wearing and gave a small shriek, "What is this? What happened to my jeans? Oh man, my mom's gonna kill me!" she quickly stood up and looked under her dress, "Where'd they go? Oh come on! Those things cost over a hundred bucks!"

Inuyasha looked at Hotaru in mild shock, still not believing that this girl wasn't Kagome. She looked exactly like her and she'd been made with Kagome's remains. How could it not be her?

"What about this!" Inuyasha said abruntly, holding out the locket to her, "Do you remember this?"

Hotaru looked at the necklace with an annoyed expression on her face, "Hey! How'd you get that? That's mine!"

Inuyasha breathed a small sigh of relief, "I know, you gave it to me a century ago!"

Hotaru screwed her face up and put her hands on her hips, "That's a precious heirloom from my family! All the women have passed it down to their daughters or granddaughters for generations! My own mother gave it to me and I defiantly wouldn't give it to some strange teenager who stole me from my home and then dressed me up like a Priestess!" her face turned bright red, "speaking of which, how did you get me in these cloths?"

Inuyasha put up his hands in surrender, "Urasue was the one who clothed you, not me!"

"And where is this Urasue you keep talking about? I don't see anyone," she looked around and finally seemed to register she was on a mountain, "WTF? Did you drug me to get all the way up here? You are one sick pervert!"

"I swear I don't know-."

"Oh, just shut up and take me back home before I call the police!" she snapped, "Or whatever you call them here in Japan! I'm still trying to figure all this out!"

"Police?" Inuyasha questioned, ""Is that like a Lord? Or a monk?"

"What, is role-playing your thing, too?" she said, looking over his kimono, "what are you even supposed to be?"

"I'm a hanyou!" he said fiercely, losing his temper with the girl. This conversation reminded him a lot of the time when he first had kidnapped Kagome, only this one was spouting a whole bunch of nonsense.

"Uh-huh," Hotaru said, "and I'm a Priestess."

"You are!" Inuyasha said, exasperated. Could she really not remember anything?

"Just give me my necklace back!" she shouted.

"Fine! Take it!" the half-demon attempted to remove the necklace, but just as earlier that night it forced itself back into place.

"Give it her!" Hotaru demanded, reaching forward and attempting to pull it off herself. The same thing happened, "Damn it!" she cried, gritting her teeth as she prepared to try again.

"Wait!" Inuyasha cried, "Wait, please! I can explain...i think..."

The girl raised an eyebrow, but didn't attempt to remove the necklace again, "Go on."

Inuyasha took a deep breath, realizing by asking his next question he was admitting his doubts, "Are you not from Japan?" he asked hesitantly.

"Well, _duh_," she rolled her eyes at him, "can't you tell by my accent? I'm from the United States of America, I moved here a few months ago but my parents have been forcing me to learn Japanese sine I could walk. Something to do with staying in touch with my heritage."

"And this locket, is an heirloom?" he said, tapping it lightly.

"Yes, I just said that! Now when are you going to start explaining," she demanded, finally letting go of the necklace to once more put her hands on her hips, "I want to know how I got here."

"I think," Inuyasha said slowly, working it out in his head, "you're Kagome's reincarnation from another time period."

"Imma-what?"

"A reincarnation, someone who died and was reborn," he explained, "I think I brought back the wrong version of your soul, the next version after Kagome's death. That would explain why the necklace won't come off, its because the piece of Kagome's soul that she mended into it is still there and only that Kagome can take the necklace off."

"And you expect me to believe this?"

"Yes."

She sighed deeply and put a hand to her forehead, "So you're saying I was transported backwards in time because I'm actually the reborn version of this Kagome."

"Exactly!" Inuyasha said enigmatically, "I'm glad you're finally getting it."

"And this is where I leave," Hotaru stated, already heading towards the steep path that led towards the village, "I don't know how you got me up here, but I can't be far from home. I have your name, so I'd get out of the country before the cops catch you."

"Hey, wait!" Inuyasha yelled, following close behind, "Don't leave! I have to figure out how to revert you back to Kagome!"

"Good bye now crazy boy!" She called over her shoulder, "I'll be sure to tell my grandchildren about this little adventure with a horny psychopath!"

"I said get back here!" Inuyasha growled, lunging forward as Hotaru stepped out onto the path.

"Hey!" she cried, taking a step back, "Whoow!" she tottered dangerously on the edge of path before slipping and falling down completely, "Ah!" she screamed, "let go of me you creep!" she kicked wildly, her feet pedaling through the air.

"Poor choice of words," Inuyasha hissed, feeling very much like dejavu. He tried to lug her up, but he still only had the strength of a weak human, "Damn it," he spat, "I can't pull you up."

"You what?" Hotaru screamed, flailing even more, "get me back up there right now!"

"Stop squirming," Inuyasha screamed back, "Or you'll pull us both over!"

She finally stopped, looking up at him with fierce brown eyes, Kagome's eyes, "You better get us out of this!"

"I'm trying!" He grunted.

"Ugh, look, the sun's coming up!" she cried as the golden beams began to cascade over the mountain peak, "Mom's gonna kill me when I'm not there for breakfast!" she gave Inuyasha a strange look, "hey what's up with you're hair?"

"My what?"

"Your hair's white, does it change in the sun or something? That is so cool!" It was amazing how short her attention span was, even when hovering above sharp rocks over 500 feet below.

Inuyasha felt his strength return with the sun, finally managing to get Hotaru to safety. He tried catching his breath as he felt his claw begin to grow back and his ears morph into dog ones.

"How are you doing that?" Hotaru asked, just as breathless as he was, "That's the best special effect ever! And you didn't ever use CGI!"

"You talk to much," he said between gasps.

Hotaru leaned forward and tugged one of his ears as hard as she could. Inuyasha cried out in pain and she quickly withdrew her hand, "OMG!" she cried, "Their real! You're really a hanyou!"

"I told you that!" He snapped, "So now what? Are you going to run away?"

"Are you kidding!" She said, "I'm sticking with you like glue! This is an amazing expierence!"

Inuyasha looked up at her, surprised, "You mean you aren't scared?"

"Dude you just saved my life," she said with a smile, "Of course I'm not scared. And I wan to be a journalist when I'm older so of course I'm not going to miss the chance of having a great story."

"Oh," Inuyasha said, not completely sure what she was talking about.

"So, now what?" she questioned, "You want to go back to your place?"

Inuyasha smiled, thoughts of home filling his head, "Sure, but I don't know if you'll like it."

She cocked her head to the side, "Why not?"

"Well..." he hesitated, "Do you like hot springs?"

"Love 'em!"

Inuyasha grinned, "Then you'll love what I'm about to show you."


	18. Springs

"This is AWESOME!" Hotaru screamed, jumping straight into the steamy water of the hot spring without even attempting to remove her Priestess attire. She dog paddled in the deeper part of the spring before reaching back to shallow water, her dress billowing around her like an inflated balloon, "How far down does this go?" she asked, excitedly.

"I don't know," Inuyasha admitted, sitting down on the grassy floor beside the water, "I've never really tried to find out."

"You aren't curious?"

"It's probably dangerous, who knows how hot the water is down there."

"I want to try!" She exclaimed, looking at Inuyasha for permission.

"No!" He said, a small sliver of fear seeping into him. There was no way he was risking Kagome again, even a reincarnation of her. Speaking of which, he still had to figure out how he was going to get her old consciousness back.

"Why not!" She pouted, crossing her arms and sinking in up to her chin, "I'm already stuck in the woods with you! You could let me have some fun!"

"You said you wanted to be here," he pointed out, "and drowning yourself certainly doesn't sound fun."

"What if-?"

"No!"

"You didn't even let me finish!"

"Fine, go on."

"What if you can under with me?"

"ABSOUTLY NO!"

Hotaru stuck out her bottom lip and held her hand close to her chest, looking very young and innocent and cute, "Please, Inuyasha? I'll be safe if a big strong dog hybrid is with me."

"H-hybrid?" Inuyasha said absent mindly. Man, it was remarkable how well this girl could entice people!

"It's not important what it means," she said, frustrated that's all he said and that he hadn't swooned to her whim yet, "I just meant that you can protect me!"

Inuyasha blinked, managing to look away as his face turned a deep shade of red, "S-stop doing that!" he snapped.

"What?"

Inuyasha glanced at Hotaru. She had her head cocked to the side, long black hair cascading over her face so that only her brown eyes sparkled at him. She just looked so _cute! _

"Come on, just once?" she pleaded.

"F-fine," Inuyasha relented, completely flustered by her. Did she even care that she was stooping to a very low level to do something so childish?

"Yay!" Hotaru cried, throwing her hands in the air and spraying Inuyasha with the warm water.

"Hey!" He barked, looking rather annoyed as he shook the droplets from his hair.

"If you don't like it, then do something," she purred.

"You asked for it!" Inuyasha dived into the water, causing a wave to crash over Hotaru. She came to the surface, spitting and coughing, "Ha!" Inuyasha said triumphantly. Hotaru sniffled and wiped at her eyes pathetically. Had he actually hurt her?

"Hey," he said, wadding over towards her, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she said, looking up at him mischievously, "Now I am!" She grabbed Inuyasha's Kimono sleeve and dragged him into the deep end of the spring, pulling him under with her. When they bobbed back up to the surface their rolls were reversed, with Inuyasha coughing and Hotaru laughing her head off.

"Aw, man," she giggled, "I can't believe you fell for that!"

"Oh, be quiet," Inuyasha growled, playfully splashing her. Hotaru just continued laughed harder.

"Okay, okay," she said after she'd used all her air, "Let's go dive down!"

"Are you sure?" Inuyasha said, nervously, "Why don't we do it some other time. Its the middle of the afternoon, we probably shouldn't be in hot water when its hot outside."

"Wimp! She called, disappearing beneath the water before Inuyasha could say anything.

"Kagome!" He called at the empty space where she had been, "Ah-I mean Hotaru!" He had to go in after her! Who knows what could be at the bottom of the spring.

_Let her go._

Inuyasha gasped at the cold, familiar voice in his mind.

_Let her go, in fact, why don't you follow her? When you get close you can reach out and grab that pretty neck of hers. If you squeeze it just right, maybe you can break her neck without killing her..._

"Shut up!" he hissed, "You aren't welcome here!"

_And then just let her float in the water, blood flowing from her mouth as she sinks to its depths. Once she dies we can take out all our resentment towards that women, slash her lifeless corpse till the whole spring is sickly pink...just like we did with Takeshi..._

"You did that!" He hissed, "Not me!"

His internal battle was cut short as Hotaru burst up from the water, "It's amazing!" she said, excitedly, "There's this small, pretty purple light coming from one of the rocks! Its like a laser beam!"

"That's great," he answered, not sure what a laser beam was. The voice had receded inside his mind once Hotaru had appeared.

Hotaru gave him a weird look and then suddenly reached forward and grabbed Inuyasha's face.

"Hey!" he cried, batting her hand away.

"They got longer," she said simply.

"They what?"

"Those purple stripes on your face, they're longer then when I went under, kind of dark, too."

"The stripes...?" Inuyasha remembered seeing his face for the first time after awakening. His demonic stripes had yet to disappear from his cheeks, but what could it mean that they'd gotten longer?

Was the demon getting stronger?

"It must have taken longer to kick in," Hotaru decided for him before diving back under the water without so much as a good bye. She popped back up after a few moments, "You have to come!" she said, excitedly, "Just one look, please!"

"Oh, all right," Inuyasha relented.

"Yay!" Hotaru cried, grabbing Inuyasha's hand. He allowed himself to smile at the warmth of her smooth skin against his, remembering when Kagome had held his hand like this. Hotaru led them farther into the water till their feet barely touched, then grinned as she prepared herself, "Her we go!" She yelled and the two dove beneath the surface.

Inuyasha's vision was slightly blurred by the water and his eyes stung with the force of it as they got closer to the bottom, but then the pressure suddenly lifted and it was almost as clear as it had been in the air. He blinked as a violet light pierced through the gray water and he saw Hotaru still grinning, even though they were far below in airless liquid. She made a gesture for him to get closer and he hesitantly did so, enveloping himself in the burning light. It filled him with a warmth that seared into his very soul, and he was surprised that the closer he got, the harsher the light became until it was piratically burning. So, this was what had made the spring's water warm for so long? He reached out to touch the source of the heat, a glowing rock made of clear crystal, and he felt the locket around his neck vibrate with the same soothing, intense heat. It was then that he realized that the light itself was coming from a much smaller point within the rock, and glowing orb shaped object encased in the crystal for who knows how long. He lightly tapped the rock and a piece of the crystal chipped away. He could easily reach the center, but he had a feeling that whatever lay inside should stay there. He glanced back over at Hotaru who seemed to be doing remarkably well for holding her breath for a full three minutes. He could last another five, but he doubted she could. Stifling a sigh, Inuyasha swam back up to Hotaru. When he was a arms length away she once more reached out and grabbed his hand, leading him to the surface as you would a small child.

"That was interesting," Inuyasha commented as they broke through the calm water, "I wonder what it could be."

"Oh, huh?" Hotaru mumbled, looking a little out of it, "Yeah, wonder what..."

"You okay?" Inuyasha asked, clasping her hand tightly, "That didn't wear you out did it?"

Hotaru gave him a halfhearted smile, "I'm...fine."

"Really?" Inuyasha demanded, "Did you see something else down there?"

"No," she answered, sharply, "could you let go of my hand?"

Surprised by her bluntness, he did so. She held her hand close to her chest, looking scared, "Did I do something?"

She looked at him, eyes full of confusion and pure fear, "Actually, I think I did."

"What?"

She took a shaky breath before meeting his eyes, "I-I think I killed you."


	19. Remembering

This was not the memory Inuyasha had expected, not as her first. He wanted Hotaru to remember the good times they'd spent together, he wanted her to remember when they'd kissed and talked with each other, or even when they'd first met and he'd kidnapped her. But not his death, not the monster of a beast he had become in his last moments before that arrow dug into his heart and sealed him in eternal sleep.

"Did it happen?" Hotaru whispered, "You said...I'm the reincarnation of that girl right? But who am I kidding!" she laughed nervously and folded her arms, holding onto herself like she'd fall apart if she didn't, "After all, its 2011, stuff like reincarnation just doesn't exist, right?" she looked at him with those deep, soulful brown orbs, "Right?" her voice went high on the last word, pleading for a realistic answer to her questions.

2011? How far into the future was that? It was an awfully large number to count to. Could this young girl every return to a place so far away?

He shook himself internally at the thought. No. She'd never return. She was going to stay here with him, once her memories returned. She'd realize that she was supposed to be here, forever by his side. She could even help rid him of this demon locked away in his heart, it only she remembered that she had the power to do so.

What had triggered the memory? That was the first thing he had to figure out. They'd gone under the water, and when they'd come up she'd been like this, shaky and unsure of herself, not the vibrant loud-mouthed girl he'd been starting to like. Was it the light that had been below the surface? Wedged in crystal and hot to the touch? If it was then he'd have to go get it, maybe it would bring back more memories.

"Inuyasha," Hotaru sniffled, sounding utterly pathetic. It was then Inuyasha realized that he'd never answered the girl's question.

"It's alright," He replied smoothly, wading a little closer towards her. She flinched as he reached out and put a comforting hand on her shoulder, almost pulling back but managing to crush the instinct and stay put, "try and tell me what you saw."

"It was dark out," she began, "I was very upset about something, the air smelled of smoke and blood. There was this figure in front of me. I know it was you, I know it was, but it's really fuzzy. You were just a black blob in the vision, some sort of pinkish like coming from your hand. You fell on top of me and I...I..." her arm trembled beneath his finger tips, "I-I don't know...you were pinned against a tree... there was a bow in my hand...an arrow in your heart...I..." she looked at him with tear filled eyes, "what did I do? Did I betray you?"

"No, it wasn't that," Inuyasha reassured her. So, she didn't remember the whole thing. If he recalled he defiantly had not fallen on her. It was more of a...tackle. Ugh, he didn't want to relive that nightmare. She didn't seem to recall the Shikon no Tama either, but he supposed that was for the best, as of now he had no clue where it was and after meeting Kagome all of his wishes to use it's power had vanished from his heart. At this time all he wanted was the women he loved safely in his arms, "Is there anything else you recall?"

Hotaru took a shaky breath and closed her eyes as she concentrated, "R-red eyes...a ton of gore and carnage...children running, screaming, being cut by-."

"That's enough," Inuyasha snapped, feeling a sharp tug at his conscience, "I don't need anymore details."

She opened her eyes and gave him a curious look, "What is it? What was that memory to you?"

"It was nothing...I don't know," he admitted, feeling embarrassed that he'd just yelled at her on impulse. It felt like back when Kagome was talking to him after she'd visited some guy. What was his name? Ma...Masao?

Another sharp tug on the edge of his mind. For a split second something rushed forward to the front of his brain. A single blood-curling laugh that reminded him of a child. The laugh was only there for a moment before dissipating into an internal echo.

"What is it?" Hotaru asked as she rubbed the tears from her eyes, "You seem almost as upset as me. Did what I tell you stir some unpleasant thoughts?"

"It seems so," he answered testily, the child's familiar laugh still ringing in his ears. What was that? It had sounded so incredibly close to his own voice that it scared him. Was the demon just messing with his head? "I'm going to go back down for a moment," he informed her, "I'll be up in a moment, try and calm down."

"Okay," she acknowledged.

Inuyasha dove back under the water, quickly approaching the beaming light. He was still surprised he'd never seem it before when he was younger, after all he'd swam in these waters ever day of his childhood. When he was hovering close to the crystal rock he hesitated, feeling the unnatural warmth seep into his skin. There was that feeling again, that gnawing in his stomach that said to leave the beautiful glowing orb in it's resting place. The warm water was pushing at him from both the rock and below. He was practically burning. The longer he stayed there, the hotter it got, but he just couldn't shake the feeling that he was doing something wrong. He reached out a touched the crystal and was filled with that comforting searing heat from before, but after a moment he let go as he realized something. That water was coming from the rock and from below him. There were two heat sources! That meant that it was possible that this glowing crystal was newer, that it had been sealed away here while he was in his eternal sleep. But what was it, and how had it gotten there? Had someone put it there or had it just found its way to this place and then encased itself with a protective shell? He had a feeling that the first was more likely, as it was odd that the orb would have found it's way so deep in the crevice and hadn't floated farther below to a more easy location. He reached forward and scratched a chunk of crystal away. The light grew even brighter, heat pouring from it. If he wanted to do this, he had to do it now before he ran out of air.

He clawed at the rock, ripping pieces away and let them fall to the bottom of the spring. The closer he got, the harder it was to get threw the crystal. Finally he managed to free the orb, although it still had a small, incredibly hard layer surrounding it. With a powerful kick off the side of the rock wall he bolted up back towards the surface, taking in a large gulp of air. Hotaru was sitting on a rock that was near the center of the spring, her knees pulled up to her chest. Inuyasha threw the orb up by her feet and swam over to her.

"Here," he gasped, "Take this."

"What is it?" she inquired, tilting her head as she studied it.

"I don't know, but try touching it. I couldn't get the last layer of crystal off, but maybe you can."

"Why would I be able to?"

"Just try!" Inuyasha cried impatiently, wishing with all his might that her memories would soon be back.

Hotaru picked up the orb, but to Inuyasha's great disappointment nothing happened, "Is this the thing that was making light under the water?"

"Yeah," he said, "how'd you guess?

Hotaru raised a eyebrow, "Please tell me you're being sarcastic."

"Why? That's an honest question."

"It's glowing, idiot," she snapped, waving the crystallized white ball in front of his nose, "Plus it's really warm."

"I don't see anything," He remarked, pushing the orb away from his face, "Let me see it for a moment."

"Fine, like I care," She scoffed. It was obvious the vision was still upsetting her.

Inuyasha took the orb and, trying to seem indifferent and casual in case he made himself look like an idiot by trying this, placed it back in the water. It glowed once more with a brilliant purple light. At this point, Inuyasha was entirely confused on what the thing was. At first he admittedly thought it might be the Sacred Jewel, but now he wasn't so sure. But what else could it possible be?

"It got brighter," Hotaru stated as Inuyasha pulled the orb back out of the water, "if that's what you were going for, good job."

"I could do without the sarcasm," Inuyasha growled, still puzzled by this mystery, "Man, I wish Keade was still here."

"Keade? Is she a friends of yours?" Hotaru asked.

He laughed, harsher then he meant to and Hotaru gave him a weird look, "No, no, she was your-I mean_ Kagome's_ higher up or something. She was an old hag that taught Kikyo, Kagome's teacher. Kagome had..." he trailed off, realizing saying 'killed her' probably wasn't the best way to try and induce memories. He hadn't been there so he didn't know how messed up the memory was.

"Kagome had...?" Horatu inquired.

"Kagome had...a lot of faith in her," he finished, "she was very wise, even if extremely nosy, and I don't mind saying that we hated each other. But Kagome held a lot of respect for, so I guess I kind of did too, at least for a little while."

Hotaru was quiet for a moment, trailing her hands through the clear spring water as she thought to herself, "You and this Kagome girl," she spoke finally, "where you...together? Like a couple?"

Inuyasha was a little taken back by the question, but answered without hesitation, "I loved her," He said passionately, "and I know I did a lot of things she can never forgive me for, but I also know that she loved me too."

Hotaru nodded, seemingly unsurprised by his quick and honest response, "And when you look at me...you see her, right? Because I look like her?"

"You are her," Inuyasha replied, "The body you are in was made in her image and was designed to her soul. It accepted you, so you must be her."

"I don't feel any different," she commented, staring deeply at her reflection in the water, "And I look the same-oh wait, let me check something!" She pulled her sleeves down a bit so that her shoulders were uncovered, "I guess it's true," she shuddered, "My birthmarks are gone?"

"Birthmarks?"

She nodded, rubbing the smooth skin on both arms, "I used to have these eight slivers, four on each side. They were kind of cool looking, mom told me they were from a past life, but I didn't really believe in that stuff," she glanced at him, looking for a reaction.

Inuyasha managed to keep his face calm, although he was screaming on the inside. His claw marks had gone with her to the grave, even transferred into her next life! Had he really injured her so badly? And Kagome had said it was nothing...

"Inuyasha," Hotaru breathed, staring at him with her big, brown, puppy-dog eyes, "I want you to tell me about my past. You don't have to tell me everything, I understand there may be some things you don't want to go into, but it would mean a lot if you could tell me something."

"Are you sure?" Inuyasha said.

Her gaze didn't waver, "Yes, tell me everything."

Inuyasha sighed, putting a hand to his forehead as he thought about where to start. The beginning seemed like a good place, "You had just became a Priestess and were traveling with your sister Kikyo, you were about to get the Shikon no Tama, an ancient jewel that gave power to its wielder, but usually at some personal cost. And then..." He made sure she was listening so he wouldn't have to repeat this part, "I kidnapped you."

Horatu snorted and covered her mouth with her hand, "Man, I guess I inherited that from her."

"I did not kidnap _ you_!" He argued.

"You brought my soul back from another place in time, I consider that kidnapping," she chuckled again, still a bit surprised, "Anyway, continue. Did I put up a fight?"

"You sure did," he grumbled, "you wouldn't stop moving around! I was trying to get away from your sister who had an arrow pointed at my heart and on top of that I had a screaming hostage!"

"Were you after the jewel?" she guessed.

"Yeah," Inuyasha confirmed, "But it wasn't like you people were gonna hand it over."

"So, what did you do after you bravely took me as hostage and ran with your tail between your legs?"

"I did not _run,_" He insisted, "I left to go rethink my strategy."

"You don't seem like the strategic type," she laughed, "I'm sure my past self had to save your ass countless times."

"Moving on," Inuyasha huffed, not wanting to admit she was right, "I took you here to the spring, you magically changed and became a happy-girly Priestess and charged right into the water. But you showed a lot more restraint then you did today," he added, "And then for some reason you got all cozy and started acting like we were the best of friends. I didn't really care, as long as you stayed put. But of course I fell asleep and you escaped."

"That doesn't sound right," she interjected, "If I was having a good time, why would I leave?"

"I'm getting there!" he growled, "You talk a lot."

She smiled sheepishly, "Sorry?"

"Okay, so then I went looking for you and I found you talking to my half-brother Sesshomaru-."

"Scandalous!" Hotaru purred. Inuyasha gave her a look and she quickly covered her mouth and giggled, "Whoops."

"I was about to come out, but then Sesshomaru flew off dramatically and Kikyo appeared out of nowhere all emotional and crap. So _then _I finally came out 'cause I was pissed, Kikyo almost killed me-again-and you had a huge speech about protecting the village and yadda yadda, I don't really remember. Then we all walked back to the village and-." He hesitated, not really wanting to go into the details and then all the questions that would go with it.

"And...what?" Hotaru demanded, "You can't just keep leaving these cliff hangers."

"Um, the village was a little unwelcoming."

"Because you're a half-demon?"

"Yes," Inuyasha quickly took the excuse given, "that was why. But you stood up for me and all the villagers backed off. Then we went and met the hag Keade who asked a whole bunch of stupid questions. Then I went home."

"So that's how we met?" She said, marveling at the fairy-tale aspect of it, "Its kind of romantic. Keep going!"

"No, we're done," Inuyasha pushed himself back onto dry land and started to walk away quickly, the next scene playing in his head in vivid detail. He needed to get away from these memories that had quickly crept back where they weren't welcome."

"Hey!" Hotaru complained, following behind, "You don't have to be so mean! We can take it slow, you don't have to tell me everything at once."

Inuyasha sat down next to an oak tree, crossing his arms and facing away from the image of his lover.

"Come on now, if you were uncomfortable you could have stopped," Hotaru sat beside him on the opposite side of the tree, mimicking his position, "Just tell me when you calm down."

"No," Inuyasha said flatly. There was no way he was going any farther into this. Things just got a mot more complicated from there and there was an awful lot of bad memories that needed to stay out of his head, including the ones Kagome had tried to make him remember.

"I have a feeling I'll remember soon anyway," she whispered from behind the tree, her voice seemed distant and strained, "and either you tell me, or I find out by myself. I have this gut feeling you did something really terrible I might not be able to forgive you for, but maybe if you told me I'd understand, hm?"

"No," he repeated, firmer this time. He was not giving into her, not for this.

"If that's really how you feel, I won't make you go any farther," she stood up and peaked around the corner, looking innocent and sweet and completely oblivious to her past, "Do you want to just talk?"

Inuyasha glanced at her a moment, as if he hadn't already seen her, as if he hadn't been watching her every movement. Talking sounding nice, talking about anything other than _that _sounded heavenly. He gave Hotaru a brisk nod and she quickly came around and plopped down in front of him.

"Okay!" She spoke enthusiasticly, "What's your favorite movie?"

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"Oh right!" Hotaru giggled, "We're in way-far-back-japan. Okay...what's your favorite book?"

"I don't know how to read."

Hotaru sighed, "Okay, let me get really simple here for a moment," she closed her eyes and rubbed her temples as she thought, "Um, favorite color?"

"Red," Inuyasha responded.

"Okay! Favorite food?"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. This was going to be a long day.


	20. Forgetful

After about the one hundredth question, Hotaru had finally drifted asleep, curled up against the giant oak like a small child. She looked even cuter asleep then she did awake. God damn it, why couldn't Inuyasha have this one thing in his life not be screwed up?

He sighed and starred out at the setting sun, feeling his eyes droop a bit as the last bit of light vanished over the horizon. As soon as the sun's rays had settled in their resting place behind the sliver of a moon in the sky Inuyasha felt himself slip off into sleep, suddenly feeling immensely tired for some odd reason. Another hidden memory boiled to the top of his subconscious.

He dreamed of the last time he saw his mother.

"Inuyasha?" Izayoi cooed as the small hanyou approached, wiping his eyes and sniffling. There was a large amount of dried blood caked onto his kimono, more then usual, and the young boy knew that he wouldn't be able to cover it up with lies this time, "Come here, my son."

Inuyasha ran into her arms, sobbing uncontrollably into her chest. She picked him up and patted his softly on his back until he had calmed enough so that his breathing was even.

"What is it, child?" she breathed into his dog-like ear. She noticed a a large slice mark on the side of it, already healing extremely fast. The initial injury had to have been terrible, "Was it Masao?"

Inuyasha's small frame trembled, grasping tightly at his mother's dress, "I...I-I...killed..."

"You what?" The sharpness in her voice made his ears pull back, a seething blackness in his heart bubbling as he attempted to suppress it, "What did you do, Inuyasha?"

"I...I..." more tears pooled into his eyes as he looked into hers, full of concern and worry. He grabbed a fistful of his hair and tugged at it-hard-until the blackness receded, "There's a thing..." he said, putting a hand over his chest, "it hurts...mother...make it stop," he pleaded, digging his claws into his skin. Pain was the only thing to keep it from spilling over and taking him under into it's inking blackness, so thick it clotted out everything and tinted his vision with deep red.

"My son..." she whisper, tightening her grip on him, "my dear, dear son. I was afraid it would be invoked, your father warned me of the risk of having such powerful blood..."

"Mother?" he sniffed, burying his face into her shoulder, "Make it stop..."

"I'm so sorry," she cried, her voice breaking, "this is my fault, if I hadn't made you go into the village...if I'd taken you somewhere far away from her..." she trailed off, stroking his blood-stained silver hair tenderly, "Is Masao dead?"

"No," he mumbled, his insides churned at the thought, an angry hiss filling his mind, "but he should be," his tone was dark and held no remorse in contrast to the whirlwind of regret in his mind.

"No one deserves death," she scolded, "no one. Whether they are human, demon, or hanyou. You tell that to the other being inside of you."

He repeated the words aloud, his voice rising and falling as more tears leaked from his eyes. Another hiss filled his head, clawing at his consciousness. The beast had no words to say, no remotely human sound to make. It thrashed and wrestled beneath his skin, restless against Izayoi's tender embrace.

"I'll figure out a way to stop this," she promised, pulling back and leaning down so that mother and son were at the same level, "Were there any others harmed?"

"Of course," he growled. His heart beat wildly in his chest and arms twitched under Izayoi's hands, "Half of the village's children are all dead. Soon, they'll come after me. And of course you _dear mother._"

Izayoi narrowed her eyes, addressing the demon with intense harshness, "You be quiet, you monster. Leave my son alone and become dormant once more."

"It hurts..." he wailed, covering his face with his hands, "It hurts so badly...my chest..."

"Look at me, little one," Izayoi commanded. He peeked out at her from behind his palms, looking completely miserable as his eyes flashed crimson, "forget this, forget it all. Your other self was awakened because of this madness, if you forget it will go back to sleep."

"I can't, I can't," he moaned, shaking his head as he spoke. Oh god, did it hurt.

"Look into my eyes," she told him. Once she had his attention she placed a small cloth wrapped together with ribbon into his hand, "this contains a herb that will make you forget everything in these last few years. You'll only remember the very start of your life, before things got so frightening."

"Will I remember you?" he sniffed.

"Yes, or course," she managed to smile, but it was weak and sickly.

"Mother, how are you feeling?" Inuyasha asked, worried by the dim look in her eyes.

"Fine, I'm fine," she insisted, placing a hand on his cheek and lifting up his chin so she could see him better, "look at you, how big you are. Your father would have loved to see you grow. He'd have protected you and been such a wonderful figure in your life. He'd be proud to see how much you withstood."

Something was wrong, she never talked about his father. Ever. "You'll be there after the herb takes effect, right?" he said, desperately clinging to her, "I'll wake up and you'll be with me, right mother? We'll start a new life, right?"

"Of course," she whispered, her breath getting caught in her throat. She coughed hard, covering her mouth with her hand. When she took it away it was stained with fresh blood, "we'll go somewhere...somewhere far away. You'll grow up in a village, make a lot of friends, fall down a lot and come home with scratches on your knees from playing ball. You'll smile and laugh and find others who love you just like I do. You'll meet a girl, grow old together and have your own child. You'll tell them of their grandmother, and their great dog-demon grandfather, and how they both loved you very, very much," a single tear fell down her face, landing on the small half-demon's cheek, "and you'll never, ever have to become a monster again."

There was rustling in the bushes, loud shouts and the smell of burnt torches. Inuyasha looked fearfully in their direction, clutching his mother for dear life.

"Go quickly," she rushed him along the opposite way of the voices, "we must lead them away from the springs, when you lose your memory this will be the first place you will want to return to. I'll go to the right, you head towards the bone eaters well. I'll meet you there soon, my son."

"But mother-!" Inuyasha protested, but stopped when he saw his mother's sweet smile on her lips.

"Be a good boy," she gave him a quick kiss on the nose and then pushed him away, "Run!"

The rustling got louder, but Inuyasha hesitated, watching as his mother slowly walked in the direction of the noise, holding onto the surrounding trees for support.

"Go now!" she hissed.

Inuyasha finally moved, walking at first, and then full on sprinting the way his mother had told him to go. He soon came across the well, but was surprised to see a person standing by it, one with hair as silver as his own and amber eyes just like his.

"Father?" he murmured. The man turned to look at him sharply, eyes narrowed and hateful.

"I am not your father," the man spoke harshly, "my name is Sesshomaru. I am your half-brother."

"My half-brother?" the hanyou inquired, taking a few steps forward out of curiosity.

"Yes," Sesshomaru replied flatly, "as a favor to our father, I promised your wench of mother I'd watch over you until you were old to take care of yourself. Of your, you won't remember me telling you this so I'll have to explain it all again."

"Oh," Inuyasha nodded in fake understanding.

"Idiot," Sesshomaru muttered, "I just want to get one thing straight, as soon as you turn ten I'm out of your life. After that we are enemies, got it brat?"

"Yes," Inuyasha said, daring to take another step towards the stranger claiming to be kin.

"Good, not take the herb your mother prepared," he turned away, leaning against the well as Inuyasha unwrapped his mother's last gift to him.

"See you soon," he said.

"Sure," Sesshomaru responded, not knowing that the words weren't for him, "Just hurry up."

Inuyasha quickly swallowed the bitter tasting plant and allowed darkness to take him. When he woke up, he knew she wouldn't be there.

"Inuyasha," a voice whispered in his ear, "Inuyasha, wake up!"

"Mother!" Inuyasha's eyes shot open, staring into large brown ones. The brown eyes blinked in surprise and then quickly backed away, a short gasp coming from beside him.

"Good grief, what kind of dream were you having!" Hotaru cried.

"What-? Oh," Inuyasha sat up and looked around. He was at the spring, he was home.

"You okay?" Hotaru asked, sounding a bit concerned, "You seemed to be having a nightmare."

"Masao," Inuyasha whispered.

"What kind of response is that?"

"Masao," he repeated, "do you know the name?"

Hotaru cocked her head at him, "No, why?"

"Nothing, just a name I heard in my dream," he sighed and stood up.

"What was it about?" Hotaru asked, standing beside him.

"I don't really know," he replied, "I feel kind of...sad."

"Maybe it was something important?" Hotaru said helpfully.

"No," Inuyasha shook his head, clearing his mind of the blurred images and sounds, "it couldn't have been. Dreams are nothing but nonsense," he turned to her and tried to make himself feel a bit better by smiling and reminding himself that he was going to get Kagome back soon, "Why don't we go find a village, hm? You could use some different cloths than that old white dress."

Hotaru looked down at her damp attire, making a face, "Yeah, that sounds good."

Inuyasha held out his hand and was surprised when she took it without hesitation.

"Don't get any ideas," she warned, "I'm off limits."

Inuyasha grinned, almost a genuine one, "I wouldn't dream of it."


	21. Stranger

Author's Note: Sorry it took so long everyone! T^T Hope you all haven't given up on me yet!

"I'm hungry!" Hotaru complained for the umpteenth time that morning. The duo had been walking for the past three hours and currently they had seen no sign of the village Inuyasha had been planning on taking her to. The forest just looked so unfamiliar to him he couldn't even find the old bone eater's well. The tallest tree in the forest wasn't standing out against all the new overly-huge trees that were growing. He guessed the villagers had put them there after the fire at the sacred temple. The flames must have spread throughout the forest, but the trees they had planted were huge compared to the old ones. The Tree of Ages was probably among them, but he just couldn't tell which one. And he'd been pinned to it for a tenth of a millennium for goodness sake! "Did you hear me? I'm hungry!"

"You told me you didn't like fish," Inuyasha snapped, "And I haven't seen any other wild life besides those stupid blue birds that won't shut the hell up!"

"Don't kill the birds!" Hotaru gasped in horror, "They're cute! Fish aren't cute, so it's okay, but deer and bunnies and squirrels are just innocent woodland creatures!"

"Oh, so you don't eat cow or pigs?"

"Cows aren't cute, they're just stupid looking."

"Your logic makes no sense. If you were starving and all you had was an injured robin what would you do?"

"Nurture it and love it!"

Inuyasha slapped his forehead and groaned loudly, "What is up with you and your weird ideals?"

"I can't believe you don't have any fruit trees!" Hotaru huffed, completely ignoring his comment, "Even some wild mushrooms would do!"

"Wild mushrooms are not good to eat, unless you want to go crazy. And all the fruit trees are next to the village."

"Then why aren't we there!"

"Because we aren't!"

"You're lost!"

"Am not!"

"Why don't you ask someone for directions?"

"No, I can get there myself!"

"Come on, it won't hurt to ask!"

"I said NO!"

"Well, there's a house up ahead, either you ask or I do."

"A house?" Inuyasha looked up to see an old and very dirty looking mansion up ahead. It wasn't the least bit inviting and admitted a strange other worldly aura that Hotaru didn't seem to sense.

"If they say no, maybe we can give them this in exchange for food," Hotaru smirked, holding up the white crystal orb she knew Inuyasha was protective of.

"Don't even joke, this place has a bad vibe to it."

"Aw come on, if its haunted just use your big bad ego to scare the ghost away."

"I don't think we should go to it."

Hotaru stuck out her bottom lip and did that cute, fluttery-eyelash thing, "Please, just for a moment. If no one answers in the first ten seconds we leave, that's it."

Inuyasha hesitated, "That's it?"

"Yep," Horaru replied, sensing his weakening resolve, "ten small seconds, then we go wander around till we find someone less ominous."

Inuyasha sighed, "I guess it couldn't hurt to try-."

"Thanks!" Hotaru was already running to the door before he could change his mind, knocking three times as hard as she could while giving Inuyasha a devilish grin. He supposed he'd have to get used to having someone more reckless then himself, "Hello! Anybody there?"

One...two...three...four...the seconds ticked by agonizingly slow. Hotaru put her ear against the door to listen for sounds of life. Five...six...seven...A feeling of intense distress flashed in his heart, and it wasn't just him who felt agitated. The other presence in his skin was twitching as the last of the time rolled by. Eight...nine...

"Someone's coming!" Hotaru cried excitedly. She pushed away from the door right as it slid open. A young man with blond hair stood in the doorway and Inuyasha's vision was tinged with red at the sight of hateful eyes a titch darker then his own. His hands automatically flexed, although he couldn't recall where he'd seen this person. Another distant scream flooded his mind as a picture of a much younger version of the male before him danced across his vision, a look of pure pain crossing the memory boy's features that made the demon within sick with pleasure. The man raised an eyebrow at the girl in front of him, seemingly surprised, but the base instincts screaming at Inuyasha told himself otherwise. This man was dangerous beyond belief, especially if the demon knew him. That had been over a century ago that it had last awakened! Anyone from that time should be dead. But then again, Takeshi had been more then mortal when he'd last seen him.

"How may I help you?" The man surprised Inuyasha even further by asking. His voice...his voice shouldn't exist, Inuyasha thought to himself, his voice...why does it seem so out of place for this man to be speaking?

"My idiot companion got us lost," Hotaru replied, rolling her eyes and pointing back at the hanyou with her thumb, "mind if you can direct us to the nearest food source?"

"A market you mean? There isn't anything like that for miles around. It would take half a days walk to get there and I'm sure it would be hard if you haven't eaten."

Hotaru's face drooped, "Oh..."

"But," the man continued with a smile, "if you need refreshments, I'd be happy to give them to you for some company. It gets rather lonely here in the house."

Immediately Hotaru was all smiles and sunshine again, "Really? That would be awesome! Right, Inuyasha?"

The man looked towards the half-demon with mild amusement, obviously enjoying his confusion and outrage, "Please, it would be my pleasure."

"Come on! You said!" Hotaru pouted.

"Fine," Inuyasha growled, "but I'm staying outside."

Hotaru's mouth dropped open at his bluntness, "Don't be rude," she commanded, running over to him and grabbing his kimono sleeve. She stopped for a second when she got a good look at his face, "Hey," she whispered, "somethings up with your face."

"What?"

"Shhh!" She looked back over at the man who gave them a curious look, "It looks like there's another pair of strips coming in," she pointed to where they would be on her face, just below the originals, "has this ever happened before?"

"No," he admitted as worry began to seep in. What could this possibly mean? Was he becoming a full demon _on his own?_

"Coming?" The man quipped with annoyance.

"Yes, yes," Hotaru nodded at him like an idiot, "Inuyasha, come on!"

Barely aware of what he was doing the hanyou allowed the reincarnated miko to pull him up towards the house. He was sure, once he stepped inside, that he'd never been in this place before, had never even seen it, but the man walking with them was definitely familiar.

"My name's Hotaru," Hotaru said to the man with cheerfulness ringing in her words, "and this is Inuyasha."

"I am called Masao," Inuyasha's head shot up at the name.

"How weird!" Hotaru exclaimed, "Inuyasha just had a dream about someone named Masao! It must have been fate."

"Really now?" Masao mulled this over as the tinge of red in Inuyasha's vision increased, "fate..." They reached a fork in the hallway, and Masao came to a halt, "did you hear that?"

"What?" Hotaru whispered.

Inuyasha's super sensitivite hearing easily heard it, "Thunder."

Masao nodded, a look of suppressed pleasure dancing across his face before being smothered by a worried expression, "Yes, I thought so."

"Oh great," Hotaru groaned, "Rain."

"You can't possibly travel if there is a storm coming," Masao persuaded, "I insist you stay the night."

"Really?" Hotaru cried in excitement, "You'd let us?"

"How could I possibly turn you away," he replied graciously.

"That won't be necessary," Inuyasha grunted.

"As a demon, I can understand your uncertainty," Masao said, "But I promise, you and your friend are in good hands."

"Yeah, quit being a jerk," Hotaru hissed, managing to keep her smile in place.

"This way, please," Masao ushered, and Inuyasha had no choice but to obey. He led them to a small, secluded room that had two futons already laid on the floor and a large platter of food off to one of the walls, "This was for me and my servant," Masao explained, "but it seems he has not returned from his...errands," there was annoyance in his voice and Inuyasha wondered if he was talking of the rat Takeshi, who had probably made his way halfway across Japan by now, "but no matter, I shall sleep in the guest quarters for tonight since this room was already prepared for two. Please, sit wherever you wish."

Hotaru plopped down next to the platter of food, looking at Masao, who offered a small nod, before digging in.

"Would you like something?" Masao asked with a sickly-sweet smile.

"No thank you," Inuyasha sat down next to Hotaru and leaned against the worn wooden wall, putting his hands inside his sleeves and assuming his normal position. Even if he was hungry, he'd eat nothing this scum was offering.

"Very well," Masao chuckled, sitting on the opposite side of the duo, but not touching a single part of what was supposed to be his dinner.

"Don't you want to eat?" Hotaru asked, trying to be polite while talking between bites.

"No, I never eat much anyway, my servant usually takes most of my portion."

"Oh," Hotaru said with a little bit of a confused look. She shrugged and took another bite of a drumstick smothered in some sort of gravy.

"If you don't mind, I actually have other company here as well," Masao said, suddenly standing back up, "I'm sorry to depart so soon."

"Oh-no, it's fine!" Hotaru chirped, looking way too cheerful. She had to have sensed something evil by now, right? It couldn't just be him...

"I'll be back soon, please stay put," Masao bowed slightly before exiting the room.

Hotaru snapped her head towards Inuyasha the second he was gone, "Well?"

"Yes?" Inuyasha said nonchalantly.

"What the _hell?"_

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Hotaru snorted, "Oh come on, the demon strips, the total hostility, the memory flash-."

"Memory flash?" Inuyasha interrupted, "What did you see?"

Hotaru seemed a bit surprised by his eagerness, "It was nothing, I just know I've been here before. Now, back to what I was saying. You obviously know something about this guy, and I want you to spill right now before I go find him and ask him myself, and I've got a pretty good feeling this may be the thing I'm dreading to remember the most."

Inuyasha eyed her coolly, "What if I say no?"

"Like I just said, I will go find him and make him tell me everything."

"I don't care, go ahead. You seem to have easily accepted his offer anyway, you'll probably believe whatever he says."

"I have no reason not to," Hotaru shot at him, "You, on the other hand, we need to discuss."

"Fine, you want to know the truth?"

Hotaru nodded her head vigorously.

"The truth is...I don't remember that guy."

Hotaru groaned and got to her feet, "Well, goodbye now," she said with a sarcastic salute.

"Wait!" Inuyasha cried, hopping up beside her, "I was being serious! I really don't remember."

"Uh huh," she responded, peering out the doorway for signs of Masao.

"Oh come on, Kagome you know this already."

She glared at him fiercely at the use or her previous life's name, "Kagome might," she spat, "but I'm clueless."

Inuyasha saw the hurt in her eyes and immediately regretted his mistake, "Hotaru, I'm so-." Before he could finish his sentence she was out the door and running as far away from him as possible, "Hotaru!" he yelled, running after her, "Hotaru!" But it was too late. She was gone.


	22. Options

Wandering the corridors of the mansion made Inuyasha's hair stand on end, but he couldn't bare the thought of Hotaru running into Masao's false smile. There was something really wrong with the guy, he just couldn't remember what. And he didn't want to for that matter. What was in the past was in the past, you couldn't change it so there was no freaking point in dwelling on it. Why couldn't everyone see that he was being smart to suppress those memories? And anyway, he _couldn't_ remember. He had actually tried a few times, but it was like a black wall that when he stuck his hand in tried to consume him. He didn't know what that wall was, but it defiantly wasn't good and he didn't want to cross it if it meant losing himself in the process.

He turned sharply down another dark hallway, unlit and smelling of rotten wood. His lip curled at the stench and he scrunched up his sensitive nose as he passed a room filled with a light fog. This place was very strange, he didn't understand why anyone would live in a place like this were you could get so easily lost and find yourself in an unpleasant place. One man living all alone out here with just his servant was bound to go insane, but then the hanyou remembered that Masao had mentioned company. His blood chilled as he thought of the type of 'company' a sly snake like him would allow to crawl in. Murderers, black market dealers, hell he wouldn't be surprised if a freaking two-headed toad demon was the guys long lost friend.

Another turn led Inuyasha to a dead end and he cursed silently as he turned to retreat- then stopped when he heard a familiar voice muffled by layers of wood. It was far away, a few halls over, and the half-demon quickly followed his ears towards the sound. It led him to a hall lit by a single lantern that glowed eerily in the midst of hushed murmurs, and Inuyasha could make out that rat Takeshi's hoarse whisper along with Masao's strong, but quiet voice. He pressed his ear to the wall and tried to quiet his breathing as he listened intently to the conversation held within the walls.

"You expect me to believe that?" Masao hissed harshly. "You are my servant, you are to do as I say. I told you to kill the half-breed, and yet you let him be saved and locked in sleep, preserved even! And now that Priestess is back as well. What, do you think that Naraku has more authority then me? To you know all I did for that selfish bastard while he was gaining his precious demon supply? How much gold I wasted scouring the globe for hunters to appease him and his ridiculous goals? I own him just as much as I own you, you low life scum, and the one thing I requested was the destruction of Inuyasha!"

Inuyasha's heart caught in his throat. He _knew_ there was some history he had with Masao!

"Naraku gave you a lot for your trouble," Takeshi pointed out in a calm tone that reflected no fear of his master, "he let you speak and walk and write again. He gave you eternal youth, just as he gave to me. Is that not enough for you?"

"The hanyou isn't dead!" Masao spat. "So no, it isn't enough! You won't have repaid me until he's a lifeless corpse laying in a bed of blood. Remember, Naraku may have brought you back from death, but I was the one who pulled you from a the streets, gave you a proper name, a home, a master! And this is how you repay me? With nonsense and mixed loyalties? I thought that you were a man of morals and ethics, not one who turns once someone with a little bit of black magic arrives."

"With all due respect," Takeshi spoke with a bitter coldness, "life on the streets was not much worse then living as a servant who can't control what path he takes."

For a moment there was a silence thick enough to slice straight through. Inuyasha didn't dare breath, even held back blinking, until there was the quiet creak of the floorboards as someone rose to their feet. When Masao finally spoke, his voice was barely audible and held no emotion."I have no need for a servant that can not serve. I disown you under my roof and say that you once more reside without a *family name," the floor squeaked in protest as, presumably Masao, continued on a few steps, before stopping, and almost as an after thought throwing in, "I dismiss you for the final time, Takeshi." With that Masao's presence vanished from the room, leaving a master-less Takeshi behind.

Inuyasha backed into a room and hid in the shadows as Masao passed by, too absorbed in his own thoughts to notice the hanyou's golden eyes glinting in the darkness. He vanished into another room and did not return.

Takeshi came by next, his dark hair (it was once gray, but it seemed immortality had given him a bit of youth back) pulled up in a rat-tail that reminded the hanyou a bit of that monk, Miroku. For a moment he wondered what had happened to the monk and slayer that had terrorized him, but he quickly snuffed out the thought and refocused his attention on the man in front of him.

Takeshi looked both ways slowly and carefully, cold gray eyes reflecting the light of the single lantern. When he seemed to be certain that Masao was gone he walked right into the room where Inuyasha was hiding and stood defiantly in the center. "I know you are there, murderer. Come out and quit cowering."

"You're one to talk," Inuyasha growled as he slid into the dim glow, "if I recall you begged for your life just but two days ago."

"I was startled and had forgotten that immortality means I can not die," his voice held a dry humor that made Inuyasha want to claw out his insides once more, "but I have recovered from the shock-."

"-And come to finish me?" Inuyasha hissed. "Try and you'll find my claws at your throat."

Takeshi seemed rather amused by this and made no move to attack the dog demon. "I mean no harm, quite the contrary actually. It seems I've fallen into a war with this whole 'immortality' thing."

Inuyasha scoffed. "If you're asking for my help, I'm not giving it." He pushed the short man out of the way, but was stopped by a soft murmur he uttered. Inuyasha spun back around, eyes blazing with color, "What did you say?"

Takeshi raised an eyebrow at the change in the other's face, but showed no fear. "I see that you still cannot control that blasted demon you've cultured inside of yourself."

"What did you say." Inuyasha demanded again, growling deep in the back of his throat. God help him, he would tare out every one of this imbecile's organs if he didn't speak up already.

"I said 'You can't protect her.'" Takeshi answered simply. "I'm sure you know who I mean."

"This is none of your concern, and if you'd had any sense you wouldn't have spoken."

"But you know it's true," Takeshi said, "the way you are now, and with Masao nipping at your heels, you can never win. But, I can help you."

"We both can."

Inuyasha turned to face a new figure, one he had never seen before close up, but the voice he heard was familiar and he had to struggle to not lung at it. "You're the one from back then," he snarled, showing his fangs and going to a hunter's crouch, "you're the one who gave me the jewel."

"And you're welcome for it," The figure said with a smile. He had long black hair that reached his waist, part of it fashioned in a pony tail, and red eyes with light shadow in the lids. His clothing was that of royalty, violet and blues mixed into an expensive kimono that sagged instead of bunched at the pant cuffs. Although his appearance was that of a human, Inuyasha sensed the demon lurking in the skin, using it as a puppet to mask himself, but something about the aura didn't seem quite right.

"You're a hanyou." The shock of this made Inuyasha's eyes stop changing and revert back to golden.

The man's smile twitched, obviously not fond of the word. "A-demon-in-progess is what I prefer to be called."

"This is Naraku," Takeshi said curtly, gesturing to the man who gave a small, but sarcastic, wave, "and he's here to fix this mess."

"Fix it?" Inuyasha scoffed, flexing his claws as he still decided whether or not to attack. "He's the one who caused it!"

"I was just looking after myself," Naraku stated, "had I let you and the Priestess live, you surely would have come after me. And it was part of my contract with the bastard Masao to 'help' in his rampage of revenge. But, granting him immortality was our switch-off for the jewel, so we are no longer working with each other."

"You sound like you've gotten what you want," Inuyasha retorted, "so why would you dare even show your face to me? You must have known or assumed that anyone who interfered with me and Hotaru in her last life is an enemy of mine."

"Ah, but you have it all wrong." Naraku declared. "Masao is our common enemy now, and a threat to Kagome's reincarnation. You see, Masao did a little something that voided the protection contract I made with him to guarantee his safety." He held something up that looked remarkable like the Shikon No Tama and Inuyasha automatically took a step back. The dark-haired man crushed it in his palm and let its dust shimmer to the floor. "He has double crossed me."

"It's a fake," Inuyasha breathed, not able to help being relieved. The thing never did any good and he certainly didn't want to be near one ever again.

"Masao gave me one of these a century ago, but the difference was that it contained a shard of the Shikon no Tama, so I was tricked into believing that it was the real thing. It seems he has divided up the jewel and hidden them so that others will not use its power to become immortal like him. He has an obsession with power, if you hadn't noticed."

"Gee, who does that sound like?" Inuyasha muttered.

Naraku chose to ignore him and continued to speak. "I have been trying to find the others, but have kept Masao alive in case he ever wishes to reveal to me where the rest are and spare his life while he has the chance. Immortality is something I can easily take back, all I have to do is destroy his demon supply and he's done for."

"Demon supply?" Inuyasha inquired.

"Yes, that's how we've lived for so long without aging," Takeshi responded, "taking the lives of demons. With the right preparations, a vast amount of them, and the knowledge needed one can steal their life force for their own and become a half-demon."

Inuyasha frowned, "But you and Masao don't smell like half-demons. You're definitely tainted, but not that far along."

"It requires a vast amount for the half-demon change," Naraku explained, looking a little bit annoyed Takehsi had easily shared his secrets for immortality, "Thousands upon thousands of demons. Takeshi and Masao have enough to sustain their life and appearance, even heal themselves, but not use true powers that most demons have. Masao doesn't like that.

"Before the year is up he will have reached the number required to switch from human to half breed, and after that full demon. He'll make himself a ruler of Japan and eventually the world. We must stop him before this happens and regain the full jewel."

"Why not just kill him?" Inuyasha asked. "Who cares about the jewel?"

"The jewel can do more then make someone a yokai," Naraku answered with a mysterious smile.

"You mean...?"

"Yes. It can make you human."

Inuyasha bit his lip, unsure. The man in front of him was the one who had caused his and Kagome's deaths...but at the same time he could be the one to save his beloved. It was a choice that was difficult to make, but he knew what he had to do.

"Screw you."

Naruku's eyes widened, obviously not expecting that response, then narrowed quickly. "You realize that refusing to work with me means that I will be coming after you as well."

"You're a manipulative bastard, and I'll be damned if I'm to work my way into your debt. Find someone else to play fetch with." Inuyasha shoved past him, feeling eyes on his back all the while.

"You'll be crawling back to me soon enough," Naraku whispered in a chilling tone, "and when you do, I'll be waiting."

"Don't count on it," Inuyasha muttered as he turned sharply the opposite way Masao had gone. He left the two immortals to themselves, let them plan their little schemes. He had a Priestess to find.

After a few minutes, Inuyasha once more heard voices, but this time they weren't at all familiar. It sounded like two males and a female, judging from the pitches they were in their teens. And they were being rather loud for the middle of the night.

"Yuka!" A male yelled. "Stop it! I'm trying to train!"

"Aw, but Uta, Shizu fell asleep and now there's no one to play with!" Came a soft, warm voice that must have been Yuka. She sounded barely above eight in age.

"That's because he trained hard, like father said we should," the boy, Utah, said in a commanding voice. He sounded closer to fifteen of sixteen, "go practice your incantations, Yuka."

"But I want to try using you Scythe!" Yuka protested. "Shizu put his Talon under his pillow and he'd be mad if I woke him up."

"For good reason," Uta scolded, "mom said that if you've got The Sight, you've gotta train to be a priestess or a monk. Me and Shizu didn't get it, so we get to be slayers. That's how its been for the last five generations, and now we're gonna make it a sixth. You hear me, Yuka?"

There was a small sniffle and a pathetic, "I hear you," from Yuka.

"Now then, what did the master say? Repeat it for me so I know you don't mess it up again."

"He said that we wait till midnight. Then we find the half demon and slay him."

"And?"

"Find the Priestess."

"And?"

"Kill her."

Inuyasha took in a sharp breath, covering his mouth at the last second, though he doubted the children could hear him. They seemed to be a few halls over and showed no indication that they had heard or seen him or Hotaru. He didn't know where she could have gone, not having heard her despite finding out loads of things from others. He needed to get her and leave this place before they were both killed!

"Do you think that we're doing the right thing?" Yuka's voice had dropped to a whisper that made Inuyasha's ears strain to pick up.

Uta was even harder to understand, but his dogs ears managed to decipher it. "I sure hope so, Yuka. We need to end this curse before Shizu's tunnel gets any worse."

"Will he be alright?" Yuka whispered. "I can hear it sometimes, the wind whistling in the darkness, and the sheets ripple like somethings crawling underneath."

"He'll be fine," Uta promised, "he's the oldest of us. Of course he'll be alright."

"And you? How's your hand doin' brother?"

"...It's fine, Yuka."

"Daddy said it comes in when you become a man. Are you a man like Shizu yet?"

"No, no," Uta reassured, "I'm still a kid. Me and you gotta stick together, you hear? Just be glad you get ta be a female like mama."

Yuka let out a small chocking sound that made Inuyashaa's heart ache, though he didn't know why when the children were plotting his death. "I miss 'um, Uta, mama and daddy."

"I know, Yuka, I miss them too."

"It's all great-great-great grandpa's fault! If he hadn't a made Naraku mad-!"

"Shhh!" Uta's voice when from loving to harsh in a moments notice, snapping Inuyasha out of his sympathy spell. "Don't speak his name, that's a rule, you hear?"

"Yeah, I hear." Yuka said back with a sniffle. "Can we practice some more?"

"Just for a little bit. Moon reaches high peak in a two hours, we gotta rest for at least one of those."

"Where's Kirara? I thought she was sleepin' with Shizu, but look, she's not there."

"Huh, must of gone for a walk."

"Yeah, must have."

A sharp hiss from behind him made Inuyasha's hackles raise. If he hadn't have had some self-control he would have growled right back as he turned to find a small white and black cat with three tails behind him. It was an old one, three hundred years. You could always tell with cat demons how old they were, they grew an extra tail for each century of their lives, and this one looked rather pissed off to find a dog in its terriory.

"Easy now," Inuyasha whispered, "Kirara, is that your name girl?"

The cat-demon let out another hiss, not as fierce as the first but still far from accepting.

"Kirara..." Inuyasha thought about the name for a moment. It sounded rather familiar. Didn't that slayer girl have a cat named Kirara? "Kirara, did you have an owner named Sango a century ago?"

Kirara opened her mouth to hiss, them snapped it shut at the mention of the name. Her tail flicked in response.

"What happened to her? And that monk? Can you tell me?"

Kirara seemed sad, her ears pulling back as she laid down on the floor and flipped over, feet up. The message was clear, and would have comedic had it not meant something so terrible. Although he didn't like the two, and it was well over a century so they probably would have passed anyway, he still couldn't help feeling emptier now that another part of his life was gone.

"Is Kikyo dead too?"

Another flick of the tail confirmed that as well.

So, everyone was gone. Not surprising.

It seemed Inuyasha was alone again.

"Have you...have you seen a girl? One who kind of looked like a Priestess that died young in the village?"

There was a slow, almost hesitant flick of the tail again and Inuyasha tried not to get excited.

"Can you show me where she went?"

The cat-demon pivoted slowly before lightly taking a few steps forward, indicating for the hanyou to follow. He felt his hope soar as he walked close behind. He was going to find Hotaru, and he was going to protect her. He wouldn't mess things up again.

***family name**= Last name. It was common for people in feudal Japan not to have last names, although some higher ups did. Masao had Takeshi take on the family name so he could gain access to everything a normal member of his family could.


	23. Emptiness

It was hazy where she was. A light film covered her eyes, and when she opened them stardust twinkled, a mix of gold and violet that filled up her small space with reflections of things she couldn't understand, couldn't grasp in the fog.

Tears, salty fresh...musky corner...dust that puffed into the air at the slightest movement.

Where was she? Why was she here? What was that noise, that sobbing, that desperate cry that sounded throughout her starlit space and turned the gold to black, filtered through the glowing purple and rang in her ears like a sad...sad song...it never ended. It didn't stop.

Who was that? Calling out into the dark like a kitten meows for its mother? Drawing further into the blackness?

It is so cold here...so very cold...you can feel the chill through the veil of darkened gold and bluish-violent...it consumes everything, this cold...it makes it feel so much more...empty.

"I am locked in this prison," she whispers. The colored dust freezes at the sound of her voice, trapped in time. She reaches out and touches a strand of gold...gold...gold like eyes that glint with pride and courage and...she pulls away and lets the strand sprinkle into partials that gather at her feet. It's so cold here...so very cold...

Kirara flicked her three tails as the hanyou following her carefully made his way down the hall. Honestly, dogs where such stupid creatures, and this one wasn't even enough of a demon to speak to her properly. It was extremely annoying what with the whole mime-communication thing. He could read her eyes rather well though, which was as creepy as it could have been interesting had their species not been at war for the last, oh, what was it now? Her mind was beginning to slip in her old age. She'd be lucky to see that fourth tail, let alone the amazing sixth that her mother had meowed of. Maybe it was like a growing up sort of thing, you feel tired all the time, get a bit weaker, but come out stronger once you go through. Oh well, she'd figure it out in another decade or so. Or she'd forget and think nothing of it ever again, cats tend to do that you know.

"Hey, slow it down," Inuyasha hissed, eyes darting back and forth along the walls.

"Scaredy cat," Kirara meowed with a bat of her eyelashes.

"I am not scared," Inuyasha retorted, "I'm being careful. I'm not as small as you so I can be heard much more easily."

"And you call yourself a demon," Kirara purred with amusement, "I can be even quieter then you in my true form. Maybe later we can have a stealth contest, wouldn't that be fun?"

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes at the neko, "I can barely make out what your implying, don't go on talking rampages."

"I know your language," she replied, even though she knew he couldn't even begin to comprehend her species, "so I think you should learn mine. I don't have the power to shift to human form to speak with you, or have telepathic abilities like some demons. Wait to see if I make it to tail six and then we might have a decent conversation."

"I have no idea what you just said, but I have half a mind to slap you."

"Only half? What did you do with the other part? Eat it?"

"Stop that noise and keep going."

"Fine," Kirara padded forward, noise up and tails straight , "you pussy."

"I'm not stupid, I can tell when your insulting me."

Kirara let out a small yipping noise, almost like laughter, before disappearing around another corner. They were getting closer now, she could smell the salt of tears in the distance. Inuyasha seemed to pick up on it as well for his pace quickened.

"Is she all right?" Inuyasha asked.

The looked in her eyes told him and he walked faster.

"Don't worry, no ones gotten to her...yet."

Inuyasha tensed and brushed past the cat, getting a meow of contempt from her as he ran towards the sound of sobbing. He dove into a room and was for a moment confused as he searched the area for his beloved. His eyes finally rested on the source of the noise and he took in breath sharply as he saw that beautiful face, pink and wet with tears, "Hotaru..."

Hotaru blinked at him, for a moment not focusing, but then she curled further away. Her hands clasp her knees close to her chest and her knuckles turned white from gripping so tightly, "You," her voice shook, not with fear but with barely contained anger. She didn't speak anything else. Everything seemed to be spoken in that one word. 'You.'

You who betrayed her. You who confused her. You who made her eyes puffed with sorrow.

"I'm so sorry-."

"_You_," She repeated fiercely. Her hands clenched the lower red fabric of her dress, taking in fistfuls to stop the tremor of her fingers. Her glare was cold and pierced through the hanyou like icy daggers. There was something behind that stare that made him take a step back.

For a moment, just a moment, he saw the Kagome he knew there, bloody angry and fiery as hell, but it was Kagome all right. The golden necklace pulsed a beat and he grabbed at it automatically.

Hotaru was on her feet, Inuyasha missing the quick movement in the time it took him to touch Kagome's final item of this world. She walked over to him, still grabbing at the cloth of her dress, and stared him eye to eye.

"You bastard," she hissed, swiping angrily at her eyes, "that man...you tore him to shreds. You left him to drown. You...you didn't even flinch!"

Inuyasha's eyes widened. She'd remembered something more...but not this...not now...why did she remember this now? What had prompted it?

The necklace pulsed again, searing beneath his fingers, but he refused to let go.

The whites of Hotaru's eyes were an angry red. He could see the spider veins making their way across and he wondered absentmindedly how long she had been here, living that memory in her mind.  
"What have you done?" She demanded. "Tell. Me."

Inuyasha hung his head, hands to fists, eyes closed in defeat. She'd remembered. It was all over now. There was no way she'd ever forgive him for such a thing, in this life or any. Whether or not Takeshi had survived, Inuyasha had still believed he had killed him. He had raised his claws against a human...and had taken pleasure in the act.

"Tell me what you have done!" She hissed.

Inuyasha opened his eyes a slit, staring at her lovely, soft face that was as amazing as it was furious, "You know, why do you keep asking me?" His chin hit his chest and his ears went flat against his head. "You know..."

Hotaru bit her lip hard till crimson dripped from her mouth. Her hands raised and hovered near his neck before reaching higher and pulling at his ears as hard as she could. "You idiot," she spat as he let out a surprised cry, "you are such an idiot. Why didn't you tell me? I remember that he's alive...I remember that he really didn't die. Would you have let me believe that you murdered him forever? If I never remembered anything else, would you have left me to hate you?"

Inuyasha blinked in surprise, then quickly became strangely calm, "You asked me to tell you what I've done..." He stared into her soft chocolate eyes, watched her lick lip feverishly and the trail of blood on her chin, looked at the locks of black hair drooping across her forehead. She was such a beauty. Such a wonder. He was lucky he had ever held such a wonderful woman in his arms and called her his. It was a nice thought. He really did love her so much... "I..." he stopped and smashed his eyes shut as the necklace burned violet beneath his palm, filling his head with anguish. Hotaru backed away and stared at it, frozen, as Inuyasha let out a cry of pain, grabbing at his ears and tugging them.

"Inuyasha..." Hotaru whispered, not seeming to be focusing on the fact that he was screaming bloody murder. She was fixated on the necklace as if it held the answer to life, her lips moving slowly, then faster and faster as she muttered things Inuyasha couldn't understand. He dug his nails into his scalp as the ringing in his ears grew to a roar. It sounded like a scream, a sorrowful wail of fear and despair. He went down to one knee, the necklace swinging lightly as it's glow flicked from violet to gold to a blinding silver.

"Hotaru!" Inuyasha grunted out. His head felt like it was going to explode! A pounding in his temples beat against his brain like a drum, over and over in a rhythmic fashion that turned from beats to cuts of sound that sliced through his conscience with blunt knives. His vision blurred at the edges so that he could barely see Hotaru, who was now at his side, calling to him through the terrible noise, yelling at him with quiet lips. Nothing she said reached him through the fierce pain.

Her hands were suddenly on his face, stoking it carefully, lovingly almost, and when Inuyasha blinked again he was in a small space that glistened with colorless dust. The hands on his face had vanished and he stood carefully as he examined the surrounding area.

"You've come for me..." Came a familiar voice, and Inuyasha spun around to face it. There she stood, right in front of him, as though she had never left. Her brown eyes had become metallic gray that made the hanyou flinch from her. "Do I scare you...?" She sounded so sad, so despairing. She took a step closer and brushed the frozen dust that hung around the two. It glittered to a floor that he couldn't even tell was there or not. "I scare myself sometimes. In this prison." She floated, glided over the invisible floor like a ghost, spinning slightly to reach out and swipe at the stardust. Occasionally, glints of color appeared, but they were quickly smothered by that sad gray. "I stay her all the time. Frozen mostly, watching from there." She gestured to an area in the distance that reached into blackness. Blurry motion filtered through, along with a murmur of sound. "I see your eyes sometimes. Those golden eyes...and your hair, white as snow. And the red..." her voice faded and she stopped moving abruptly. Her head twisted toward Inuyasha, eyes unblinking, but very much focused on him. "I suppose you are wondering why you are here...why I am like this...why she is like me..."

Inuyasha gulped air, mouth dry, not wanting to look away from this strange Kagome. He waited for her to continue.

"I am a shade, a fragment of myself that was left behind when life was transferred through time. I am the memory of despair." She floated over to him, hand reaching out and stroking his face. They were different from the warm hands that had brushed over his skin just moments before. They were cold, and lifeless, and hard. "You are so lovely..." She whispered. "I can feel no pain here, yet I ache. When I see you, it hurts," she put a hand to her heart and smiled bitterly. "Hotaru must never become me, can never know all that I know. I've come to tell you to stop seeking me. You've already upset things. There is nothing more you can do; send Hotaru home."

"What?" Inuyasha pushed Kagome's hand out of the way, glaring at her. "I've barely begun to find you, and now you say to stop? Kagome, I love you. I'll never stop looking for you. Never!"

Kagome cocked her head, lifeless black hair drifting around her neck. "You have no idea how much that soothes me. But you must stop. You were meant to stay in eternal sleep, as I am meant to remain in this locket and Hotaru is meant to claim her right to my soul. Soon I will fade into a memory, you will forget me, Hotaru will lose all knowledge of this world, and you will return to the Sacred Tree to die as you should have. That is our fate. That is how it must be."

"That's a lie," Inuyasha growled, "That's a lie!"

The shade glided lightly, seeming to finally touch ground. She blinked slowly, her faded eyes seeing nothing. "It is not, my love. You were meant to die back then. It was a mistake in my choice of arrow. Nothing more."

"Kagome wouldn't have made a mistake," Inuyasha argued, stepping back from her, "Kagome knew which arrow to use, she wouldn't have done something like that. And if she had she would have fixed her error and finished me off. She didn't want to kill me! She _didn't_ kill me!"

The gray eyes narrowed. The frozen dust shimmered, sliding from the air just the smallest bit. "I am Kagome. I know what my intent was. Love, do not tell me you don't believe me?" She slid her foot closer to the half demon, arms out stretching. "I love you so much, it pains me to see you like this, trying so hard, struggling for me. My heart aches. You see?" She grabbed Inuyasha's hand, surprisingly strong, and pressed it to her breast. It was as cold as ice and hard as steel. "Do you feel the emptiness? The warmth that has left my being? I am Kagome, I promise you."

"You are not her!" Inuyasha growled, pulling away. "You're not her at all! Kagome would never …!"

"Never what?" The gray eyes asked, fierce, cold, unblinking. "Never kill you? Never raise a hand to strike you? Never lie to you?" The eyes narrowed more, the expression turning cruel, the lifeless hair losing what little color was there, "Never what, my love?"

"Stop it!" Inuyasha hissed. "Stop this now!"

The shade threw back her head and cackled, long and loud. Inuyasha's ears went flat and he hunched his shoulders at the sound. After a moment the head rolled back down, a sinister smile turning up the lips. "I told you," it hissed, "give up. I am Kagome, you can deny it all you like. I am the memory of despair. I am the blackness that laced her heart and stole her soul. I have taken all hope from this part of her, there is nothing left that hasn't frozen to my touch."

Inuyasha backed away, eyes darting around the area as he attempted to find his way out. "You aren't the Kagome I know."

"How many times must I tell you?" The shade whispered. "I. Am. Kagome. I have consumed the remains of her soul, so now I am her."

"Demon!" Inuyasha yelled. "Demon!"

The shade flinched, it's grin morphing to a scowl. "You should have taken the chance I gave you to get out of this, to get Hotaru home safe and sound. Now she'll have to suffer. And so will you." A cold, clawed hand was around Inuyasha's neck, the colorless women in front of him growling like an animal. Inuyasha let out a chocking sound, gurgling loudly as the steal grip tighten. He couldn't breath. It was so cold...

"And do you want to know what caused me to surface?" The gray eyes hissed. "The sadness of that other girl, the one that you've replaced me with." The claws dug into skin and held fast. "She sprinkles this world in blackness and laces it with anger. That is how I became this. It is her fault!"

"N-no it's not!" Inuyasha gasped out, the claws tightened and drew blood, "It's my fault not her's! I was the one who made her cry!"

The gray eyes hissed and a claw slashed at his fast. Blood trickled from the wound, red and crimson. It fell to the shimmering dust and stirred it.

"I take responsibility," Inuyasha said with cool, level eyes, "for everything. Don't you dare blame it on Hotaru."

The shade blinked in surprise. Inuyasha saw a flash of gold twinkle behind her, a light hue of violet. "You speak of her as you once did me..." the voice was sad, but did not come from the false Kagome. This voice was true and as she spoke flickers of color appeared. "Have you forgotten me already? I suppose it's better that way."

"Kagome!" Inuyasha yelled, pushing away the shade with a burst of strength. It hissed angrily as he stepped through the stardust. The blood fell from his cheek and sizzled as it met with the floor. "Kagome, where are you!"

"Be quiet, half-breed!" The shade hissed in anger. The shimmering dust moved a fragment.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha shouted again, despite the protests of the shade.

"I said be quiet!" The shade reached out to him, ready to grab him, but then faltered. Her clawed hands shook and twitched as the dust began to fall, changing to bright colors of gold and purple.

"Look what you've done!" It croaked out. It's voice was hoarse, face contorted in pain. "Look at all you've done!"

Inuyasha glared at the false being, spinning around to face it with angry golden eyes, "You've done enough, you vile creature. This isn't your wasteland anymore, find a different place to destroy."

The shade hissed, its form seeing to shrivel as spidery cracks danced across it's skin. It made a last attempt to reach out and slash at him, but then the cracks deepened and it seemed to shatter, becoming one with the starlit dust. A smooth, perfect hand was revealed beneath, soft and kind. The gray eyes peeled away and showed caramel beneath, the frayed hair falling out for brown, luscious locks that cascaded over delicate shoulders. Red lips smiled at the hanyou and he felt his breath catch in his throat.

"Kagome..."

She laughed a bit and wiped off the remaining fragments of gray, looking at him with amusement. "Well, that rather pleasant," she chuckled.

"...Are you all right?" Inuyasha asked as he quickly approached her, reached out to feel her and stroke her like he did in life. She brushed off his hands dismissively and looked at him sadly.

"A little shaken, but all right." Her eyes were sorrowful as she stared at him, not masking any emotion. "You have stripes on your face now," she reached out and ran her fingers over them. These were the soothing hands that had brought him here. He had found her, _his_ Kagome. "But you look much better."

"Better?" Inuyasha said, incredulously, "Kagome, you're dead. How could I possibly be better?"

"She's a keeper, isn't she?" Kagome giggled, ignoring the question, "Hotaru, I mean. A bit different from me?"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes, "_Very_ different. I wonder sometimes how she can even be your reincarnation."

"Sometimes?" Kagome whispered, half teasing.

Inuyasha's face reddened, "I mean, she isn't like you at all...but...um..."

Kagome laughed again, her voice making the dust swirl. "Oh don't worry, this isn't a test, although that nasty shade just about did me in. I just wanted to see what you thought of her. She is still me, you know. A little more like you now, but still me."

"Kagome..." Inuyasha hesitated before reaching out and grabbing her hands, golden eyes pleading, "Kagome, I've found a way to become human."

She looked at him sadly, "I can't exorcise the demon out of you, Inuyasha. It's a part of you now, you might die."

"No, no, not that. I met a man named Naraku. He said that the Shikon no Tama, the sacred jewel, it can make me human instead of a demon if I choose the right wish."

Her brow furrowed, "Naraku? Who's that?"

"Well...he's sort of the one who...turned us against each other. Before you...well, passed on."

Anger glinted in her eyes, "And you're willing to trust his word? The man who practically killed us?"

"No...well, maybe. Listen, there's more to this then I first thought. I'm not entirely sure who's at fault anymore."

"Do not use the sacred jewel, it will distort your wish, it always does."

"But-."

"Promise me. _You will not use it_."

Inuyasha bit his lip. "I promise..."

Kagome smiled in relief, "Good."

"...If you'll come back with me."

Kagome blinked in surprise, but then her forehead creased and she shook her head.

"Why not?" Inuyasha demanded.

"Because..." she faltered. "Even if I wanted to, the body that Hotaru is using isn't human. She doesn't even have her own vessel in this time and has to use a makeshift of clay and blood. She can't stay here forever, either. The clay won't be able to keep animated for more then a few months without the witch who cast the spell."

"What?" Inuyasha cried. "I was never told that when I made the deal!"

Kagome looked up sharply. "Deal?" She demanded. "What deal?"

Inuyasha turned his head from her nervously. "Nothing, never mind."

Kagome raised an eyebrow suspiciously, folding her arms across her chest, "How in the world did you come across a witch willing to perform such a risky spell? She must have had a high price. What was it?"

"Nothing."

Kagome sighed, closing her eyes for a moment before opening them again with fire hidden in the irises. "Sit boy."

Suddenly, Inuyasha was thrust downwards, face planting into the glittering floor which was surprisingly solid. He managed to push himself to his elbows, grabbing his nose which was broken but healing fast. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?"

"Keade gave them to me," Kagome answered simply. "Those purple beads around your neck? Yeah, not just for show. I've been in this necklace a very long time. I've learned a trick or two while being cooped up in here. Unfortunately, it seems that the word of subjugation is permanently this fitting, but extremely idiotic, phrase. Now then, care to repeat what pact you made with a witch?"

"She's dead now," Inuyasha grumbled, "what does it matter?"

Kagome narrowed her eyes, hard and determined. "Sit boy."

_BOOM!_

"Stop that!" Inuyasha growled as he spat bits of dust from his teeth.

"Sit boy. Sit boy. Sit boy."

_BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!_

"Now then," Kagome was kneeling next to him with a smile in place, "would you like to revise your last answer?"

"I...I made a deal with her," Inuyasha muttered against his will.

Kagome frowned and knocked him lightly on top of the head, "I already realized that, idiot. I want to know what exactly the deal was. Did you promise her something? Your life? Money? Servitude? Come on, now spit it out."

Inuyasha looked up her, deadly calm. She was such a star in the glitters of color, shining brightly through the haze that covered this world. His heart hurt when he looked at her, when he was reminded of all that he had done...of all that he might do if he didn't get her back.

"I..." he hesitated for only a moment, but the look in his lover's eyes made him continue, "I gave her my soul."

Kagome was silent, staring at him blankly before rising slowly to her feet. "Then all hope is lost." She stated simply before fading into the dust, leaving Inuyasha alone, surrounded by violet and gold.


	24. History

Something was off. Hotaru knew that from the moment the necklace started to glow that surreal light. She felt like she could be pulled into that light, dragged into the abyss and stuck screaming in its depths. The unease didn't end when the glow died down and Inuyasha crumpled to the floor, eyes rolled back in his head like he'd had a stroke or something...oh god, what if he was dying? What if...what if he was already dead? How was she supposed to get out of here? She'd already gotten lost, and new found memories of Masao made her not to eager to go to _him_ for help...

"Inuyasha?" Hotaru whispered tentatively, kneeling down next to him. She put a small hand on his shoulder and shook him a bit. "Inuyasha, you're scaring me. Inuyasha?"

There was no response.

Quickly, Hotaru rolled him over onto his back and checked his pulse. She wondered for a moment if demons even had a pulse, but the thought dismissed itself when she felt a steady beat beneath her fingers. She put her head close to his mouth and listened. Shallow breathing came back and she sighed with relief. He was alive, for now anyway. His white eyes scared her a bit and so she closed them with the palm of her hand. It made her feel weird, since people did that in movies after a death, but it couldn't have been good for his eyes anyways. She sat and waited beside him, drumming her fingers on her lap. Every now and again she put her ear near his lips to make sure he was still breathing and she'd unconsciously stop her own breath until a mist of warmth touched her cheek.

"Having fun there, human?" Piped a small voice. Hotaru blinked and turned towards the entrance way, but saw nothing. "Down here." A small cat like creature was at her feet, flicking three tails back and forth. "Hello there, human."

Hotaru let out a small 'yeep!' before quickly covering her mouth and staring down at the feline with wide eyes. Slowly she put her hand back down and cocked her head, "Did you just speak?"

"Sort of," it replied, mouth not moving. A shiver went down Hotaru's spine as it stared intently with large red eyes. And there is was again. That little prick in the back of her head that screamed for her to get far, far away. Red seemed to be the trigger, the more she thought about it, and it was getting damn freaking annoying. "My name is Kirara, human. You look very much like a girl I knew once. Her name was Kagome, although I'm sure he's told you," she indicated to Inuyasha with her tail and let out a purr of amusement, "doesn't know when to shut up, this one."

Hotaru squinted her eyes at the cat and pushed herself a bit away from it, not trusting her yet. "You a demon?"

Kirara let out a laughing yip and bobbed her head, "Smart one, you are!"

"...And you know him?" She gestured to the hanyou. Another enthusiastic bob of the head. "And you knew me-er, Kagome?"

"Yes, yes. A little, at least. I know your story, that much I know."

"My story?" Hotaru's blood raced through her veins like fire.

"Yes, would you like me to tell you? We have a bit before the dog wakes up. Time moves differently where he is at, and if he doesn't wake up soon enough we'll have to gather him up and leave this place before my masters chop off your heads."

Hotaru looked at her blankly. "Chop off our...heads?"

Kirara nodded, "I shall explain that as I explain more of this. Now then, where did he leave off?"

Hotaru furrowed her brow, a smolder of anger in her heart. "Actually, I remembered a lot on my own. Up until the point where I was in front of the crippled Masao of the past. Why is he still alive, by the way?"

"That would take much too much time to explain, human. You sayAsk your hanyou when you have the change, he'll know. You say you left off at meeting Masao? Ah, yes, a bit hard to recall that part. I don't remember too much, let's just skip forward."

"...Just like that?"

"What? You expect me to tell a story I don't recall?"

"Well, no, but-."

"Good, then let's move on," Kirara quipped. "After the meeting with Masao, you and my master and the monk returned. My master, Sango, told me that Inuyasha had been abused as a child my Masao and that Kagome was keeping more of the story to herself. After she spoke to me, there was yelling outside. It seemed Inuyasha had run off. Soon after, a fire started in the Sacred Temple. Kagome and the villagers opened fire on a figure who had stolen the Shikon no Tama. I was later informed that Inuyasha had stolen it, but over my years I have learned that this was a lie. A hanyou by the name of Naraku had been working with two other men who hated Inuyasha. Their names were Masao and Takeshi, the people who Inuyasha attacked while in his demonic state-."

"-His demonic state?" Hotaru managed to break in through the swirl of information. Some of this sounded familiar, while other parts were fading just out of reach.

"Yes, you should of seen it in your memories with the man called Takeshi. The man he drowned."

"I..." Hotaru put a hand to her head, creasing her brow as images flickered at the edge of her vision.

"His eyes turn crimson," Kirara continued, "his claws and teeth sharpen, and purple marking appear on his face. That's what I was told, anyways."

The images flashed faster past. Finally, they subsided, replaced by raw fear. She remembered him now, on top of her, growling like an animal as she cried bitter tears. And then when she plunged an arrow into his heart...she said it was better this way. She actually said that killing him was better...when she'd loved him so much...

Love? Was that what it was? That deep pain in her chest whenever she looked at him?

Had she loved Inuyasha...?

"Anyways..." Kirara said with a little cough, "after that, Kagome died and-."

"Wait wait wait," Hotaru interrupted again, "I...died? H-how?"

Kirara flicked her tails. "Don't remember. Moving on now. So then me and my master and her monk went on traveling, trying to find the man called Naraku. He put a curse on the monk's family, it was a strange one too. He had a hole in his hand that howls like the wind and pulls things in quickly. Unfortunately, they never found the hanyou and the monk and my master..." Kirara's ears went flat to her head, "...were pulled in...They left a son behind. A boy named Ren. He was only six when they died, but I raised him," her head perked up a bit at the memory, "I raised him well. Brought him to a village soon as I could and taught him how to steal. Smart fellow, he was. Great generations came from him. Looked just like his mother..."

"How tragic." Hotaru whispered sadly. "All of it is so terrible."

"When you live as long as me, you come to accept things that are this unkind." Kirara responded, closing her eyes for a moment before seeming to gather herself and continuing. "The generation I serve now has two young boys and a female. The eldest of them has inherited the curse of the howling wind in his hand and the other is not to far off from also gaining it. I love them dearly," her tails curled around her paws and she stared down at them in silence, "...the girl shall be left alone in only three years time if this is to continue. The curse grows stronger as Naraku does. If he becomes a full demon then the tunnel shall swallow the boys whole then and there..." She looked up at Hotaru with a burning fire in her eyes. "That's why we need to gather the shards of the jewel that Masao has scattered across the country. Not only will you gain your past knowledge and strengthen yourself as a Priestess, but you will also be able to destroy Naraku. If you do all this, the sacred well shall open, made from the Tree of Ages, and you will be able to return to your home from there. But we must hurry before Naraku finds these shards and destroys us all."

Inuyasha groaned from the floor and Hotaru was immediately at his side. She pulled back her hand when she realized what she was doing and slowly sat down beside him. "How can I trust him, though?" She said, gesturing to Inuyasha. "He lied so much. All he does is lie, lie, lie. Would it kill him to tell the truth?" Her voice has gained in volume and she quickly took a deep breath to calm herself. "He's a bastard." She decided.

"He might be," Kirara said as she padded over to sit beside Hotaru, "but he is not a bad person. He loved who you were, and he loves who you are. I can tell." She stuck up her muzzle proudly. "Cats instinct."

"Love..." Hotaru trailed off and furrowed her brow. "I...I might have loved him in my past life, but I don't love him now. I want to go home, I don't want to stay here anymore. Is that bad?"

"Not at all," Kirara purred, rubbing her head against Hotaru's leg for comfort, "if all works out in the end, he'll realize that you are not the same as Kagome. You are two separate people, even if you share the same soul. He'll be able to let you go." Kirara sniffed Inuyasha and then put her paws on top of him, "she has left him now. I can smell the fear on him."

"She?" Hotaru questioned.

"Kagome," Kirara answered. "She trapped part of her being in the necklace. Since she does not get reincarnated until your time her spirit can remain as itself. That's why your memories are returning, because her soul has stayed here. I'd bet she spread part of herself into the jewel shards to keep them pure. As long as they are pure, it is very difficult to use, hence why Masao is still human and not a demon."

Hotaru peered down at the unconscious hanyou curiously, "So all this time my necklace had a soul in it?"

"Probably by the time it was passed to you her soul escaped," Kirara answered. "This necklace is from this time period. It may be the same one, but you left your version in your time, am I correct?"

Hotaru thought about it for a moment and nodded, "Yeah. Just my soul made it over, I don't even have my own body." She scrunched up her nose as she looked down at herself and sighed. "So, if I get all these shards and destroy Naraku, I can go home?"

"If that is what you want, then the well will open for you." Kirara replied. "Everything happens because it must. You were allowed to be sent back because you are the Soul Reader. That's why we can communicate. You are needed in order to defeat Naraku."

Inuyasha groaned again and blinked open his eyes. They immediately found Hotaru and brightened for a moment before he realized that he was back in the real world and that she wasn't Kagome. He pushed himself up and looked around, realizing he was still in the same room as before.

"Good, you're awake," Kirara said, her tails twitching as she got to her feet and ran out the door. "Come quickly! We haven't much time!"

"She says to follow," Hotaru said, getting to her feet and not bothering to help the hanyou.

Inuyasha blinked incredulously. "How do you understand her...?"

"There's no time to explain," Hotaru answered, "just come on!"

The two bolted out the door after the cat demon and ran through the twists and turns of the halls that all looked so similar. Lighting flashed from some of the rooms as the rain increased to a deafening degree, but the scarce bit of glow helped them to see the demon they pursued.

"Almost there!" Kirara promised. "My masters will remain inside if we escape into the forest! They are as afraid of it as Masao and Takeshi are, since night brings demons!"

"She says we'll be safe in the wood," Hotaru huffed.

"Are the little brats after us, then?" Inuyasha asked.

"Brats? You mean her masters?"

"Brats, masters, whatever they are they're demon slayers and they're working under that Masao guy!"

"Yeah, I sort of got the whole story," Hotaru said, narrowing her eyes at the hanyou. "You know. Everything."

"What are you talking about?" Inuyasha yelled over the roar of the rain.

"You are definitely a bastard!" Hotaru screamed so that she knew he would hear. Kirara hissed at them to be quiet and even Inuyasha knew what it meant. They continued on in silence, the rain masking the pounding of their steps.

"Here we are," Kirara huffed. The screen door was in front of them, shaking from the wind. "You'll have to continue by yourselves from here. Go to the village. Find out as much as you can about the jewel. Masao will have given it to those he can trust so you'll have to be perceptive. And Hotaru," Kirara's red eyes found the girl's and they were filled with warning, "my masters will come for you, make sure Inuyasha doesn't underestimate them or something terrible might happen to everyone. Watch his eyes, you'll know if he's about to change. And no matter what, when you regain your memories, do not have them influence your judgment. Things will only get more difficult from here," she used her tails to sweep open the screen and glared at them both, "now go! Before they come after you!"

"She says we have to leave," Hotaru said. Inuyasha's golden eyes met her brown ones, full of uncertainty but a hidden determination within.

The two glanced at the cat demon before they fled into the night, the flashes from the sky guiding them.


	25. Returned

**A/N: Alright guys, I get it. You don't like Hotaru. But I have succeeded in making you pity Kikyo so HA! **

***Eh hem***

**Just bear with me peeps. Hotaru is just another stage of the story, she won't be here till the end. It just made sense to have Kagome die when she did, because I needed a LOT of time to pass with Inuyasha on the freaking tree, and she would have died of old age anyway. Now her soul has a reason to stick around, so be happy that you'll at least get glimpses of her!**

**Good bye mah unhappy readers~**

It was cold in the forest, the rain bringing rolls of fog with it that seeped threw Hotaru and Inuyasha's cloths till both were soaked threw, even with the protection of the branches. Hotaru had the white orb clasped in her hands, claiming it made them warm and that the glow helped her see, but when the hanyou touched it he neither felt or saw what she spoke of. They found a willow tree with widespread branches and laid underneath, not looking at each other as the night deepened around them. When the rain finally stopped, all was silent in the inky blackness.

"We need to get some cloths for you," Inuyasha finally spoke, "that dress isn't very good for the elements, and its filthy."

"Speak for yourself," Hotaru grumbled. She shivered as she spoke and pulled her knees closer to herself. "You've gotten dirty loads of times before."

Inuyasha bit his tongue at the double-meaning remark. She obviously had remembered more, or that stupid cat had spilled some secrets. Why was the world pressed against him all the time? Why couldn't it for once just help him out a little and let him live without all these accusations crashing around him?

"We'll need to move soon," Inuyasha whispered, "this forest is full of demons. I can smell them. This is their hunting ground, and we're right on their dinner plate."

"Well, yay for them."

Inuyasha frowned, "Look, I know that whatever you saw was probably terrible, but-."

"You attacked me!" Hotaru hissed. "You went all wild-dog and tried to kill me!If I hadn't stabbed you...I can't believe I felt bad about that! I actually thought you were one of the good guys."

Inuyasha's hands tightened into fists. She knew. She knew probably the worst thing that he had done...he had tried to kill her. "I'm glad Kagome shot me. I'm glad she was alright," his voice shook slightly, "I don't understand why she had to die. She had such a long life left. She could have been so happy without a blood thirsty monster like me by her side. I wish I never had met her. Then you'd be at home, I'd be off dying in some idiotic fight with my brother, and Kagome would be..." he couldn't finish the sentence and allowed it to hang open ended. He could hear Hotaru's heavy breathing on the other side of the willow. He hoped to whatever God was still out there that she didn't just take off running right then and there. He half expected her to. What he didn't expect was what she said next.

"...Can you come over closer?"

He blinked in the blackness and turned towards her shadowy form. He could barely make her out, and with human eyes he was sure she wouldn't be able to see more then a foot in front of her, magic orb or not. "Um, yeah, sure. Why?"

He saw her frame shake as she answered simply, "It's dark."

"...Oh." Carefully he made his way over to her and sat down so that he was only a few feet a way. She was still shaking, but not as bad.

"I'm not too much of a fan of night time," she told him.

"Is that why you wanted to stay with Masao?"

"Kinda."

Inuyasha shifted uncomfortably, "We really do need to-." He was stopped short when he felt warmth on his side. Looking down, he saw the form of Hotaru leaning against him. If he squinted hard, he could just make out her large brown orbs staring up at him. "...Hotaru?"

"I'm cold," she said defensively, "you were right, these cloths suck."

He couldn't help smiling a bit, "Told you."

"Yeah, yeah. Don't get any ideas. I'm still pissed at you, but according to the cat demon you aren't all that bad. And I'm kind of stuck to you for, like, ever. Until we kill that Naraku bastard at least."

Inuyasha shook his head, "It is so strange to hear you curse."

"Why? Was my other self all prissy and self-disciplined?"

"Not really, but she was decent with self-control."

"Makes you wonder how we're the same, huh?"

"It sure does."

Silence ensued once more. The pair laid like this for who knows how long, the light fog now seeming more friendly in the company of two.

"Hotaru?" Inuyasha whispered. He was greeted by steady breathing. It seemed that the girl had drifted to sleep. He sighed and carefully removed the top part of his kimono, laying it lightly on her shoulders while moving her head to his lap. The imminent threat of demons, jewel shards, and all other hell in the world could wait. For now, all the hanyou wanted to do was rest.

"Inuyasha," The voice was powerful and familiar. Immediately Inuyasha's eyes were open and he was sitting up. It seemed he had fallen asleep against the willow, light now pouring down around him and into his sensitive eyes. He blinked and the harshness dimmed, replaced by the warmth of the steady sun on his skin. At his feet he saw the white orb, cracked clean down the center. It was filled with a sort of pinkish liquid, in the midst of which was a single shard of the pure shikon no tama. So, it had been the jewel after all. "Finally, you are awake."

Looking up, Inuyasha saw the same dark brown eyes he had fallen asleep watching, only this time they seemed deeper, full of an uncomprehending wisdom that seeped into his very core. "Kagome..."

She nodded, reaching down and grabbing the shard from the liquid. She wiped it carefully before placing it in the breast of her dress, "That shall have to do for now. When we get to town, we will have to find something better to hold the pieces in."

"Kagome!" Inuyasha was immediately to his feet, staring at her with all the love and guilt that was constantly pressing into his conscience. "How are you-? What are you-?" Before he could ask anymore questions, Kagome's arms were around him, hugging him close. The strange, otherworldly look in her eyes had not at all diminished who she really was, and her voice was warm when she spoke to him.

"I've missed you, Inuyasha. I'm so glad to see you in person again." Her arms tightened and her voice wavered. "I'm so happy you're alright."

Although he didn't want to, Inuyasha pulled away to look incredulously at Kagome, her ominous message from the last meeting still ringing in his ears. "I thought I'd never see you again. You sounded like you thought so too last time we spoke."

Kagome brushed stray tears from her eyes and beamed up at Inuyasha, "I've been given a second chance. For a little bit, anyways. Now, come on! I don't have much time." She took his hand and started to quickly lead him threw the forest. "When we get to the village, the first thing we're going to do is get something to eat. I'm starving, and the afterlife doesn't really have much to satisfy yourself with when you're a wandering spirit. Waiting to be reincarnated is rather boring, and it seems I'll be waiting for quite some more time, judging by Hotaru. She's rather ridiculous with all her futuristic thoughts."

Inuyasha tried to keep up with what she was saying, but was having trouble since his brain had just exploded. Kagome was here. She was right in front of him. She was _touching_ him. How was this possible?

"I know you're confused," Kagome apologized, slowing her speed a little bit, "but those higher then me thought you might need some motivation to find the jewel shards, since they know you won't want to let my spirit go. When you find them, you can see me for a little bit. As long as you continue to wear the necklace that holds the largest part of my soul. While I'm here, I can use my power to help direct you towards the next shard. It's somewhere in the village we're heading too, by the way."

They walked for a bit more, Inuyasha's mind still recovering so that he could form cohesive sentences. He smelled the smoke of a village in the distance, and that finally seemed to wake him up.

"...So you're leaving again?"

Kagome nodded slowly, "Yes, I am sorry. But, the sooner you find another shard, the sooner I can return to you. That sounds fair, doesn't it? I had to do a lot of talking to finally get someone in the other world to agree, but I figured it out." She made a face. "There are some really stingy people. Kikyo was with me for awhile, but I think she jumped back into the world a decade or so ago. She was mad at me for a long time, but Keade really helped me. Even though I did such a terrible thing to her, she forgave me, and eventually Kikyo did too." She smiled at the hanyou brightly and let go of his hand, turning to him and stopping in her tracks. "Just like I've forgiven you for making a pact with a witch."

"That again," Inuyasha growled, "why do you keep bringing that up? She'd dead, alright? As dead as dead can be. She can't claim my soul now."

"She already has," Kagome replied ominously. "Her soul has attached itself to yours threw the blood bond. We'll have to figure out a way to break it before she takes decides to pull anything."

Inuyasha blinked. "She's...attached to me? I know this doesn't sound very manly, but...ew."

Kagome nodded, "Ew about sums it up. On top of that, she has a really bad temper. I've tried negotiating a few times, but short of killing you myself she hasn't let up. Which—don't you dare ask. I'm not going to end your life. You need to make up for everything you've done and right the wrongs of your past first."

"What wrongs?" Inuyasha grumbled.

"I'd love to tell you, but I've already been told that you have to remember yourself. Another part of the bargain. Plus, you wouldn't believe me."

"Well, that doesn't make me curious or anything."

"Good. Now then, I think we've got another mile before we get there. And I've got about an hour. Next time they promised me till sunset, but this will do for now. And like I said- I'm really hungry."

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow, "Should you be spending your time with stuff like that?"

Kagome frowned and turned away from the hanyou, "They never said I couldn't. I can do whatever I want, so long as I help out with defeating all these freaks of nature. That includes indulging myself. I can't just go out and hunt down some bad guys on an empty stomach, now can I?"

"Um...no I guess."

Kagome nodded happily, "Good. Now, onto another matter...this would go a lot faster if you would...you know..." she made a gesture with her arms and Inuyasha sighed, not unhappily. He leaned down and allowed her to crawl up onto his back. "Alright, onward!"

"I'm not a horse."

"I didn't say mush, I said onward."

Inuyasha grinned reluctantly; it was nice to have her back, even if her stubbornness came with it. At the very least, she was reasonable. Compared to that Hotaru version, anyway. He took off towards the smell of smoke, letting the wind whip his hair and kimono around as his feet glided over the grassy floor. It felt good to have the extra weight clutching tightly to his back, just like old times...

Except, these weren't old times. These were shitty, present times. And any bit of happiness would soon be snuffed out, once time ran out. Even though Kagome was right with him, he still couldn't be happy, knowing that he would loose her again soon, although only for a little while.

"You're awfully quiet," Kagome whispered into his ear, "anything on your mind?"

"It's nothing," he replied, "just in thought."

"I can see that. A lot to take in, huh?"

"Yeah..."

"You know, I can't tell if you're in shock or are just depressed. I'm right here, okay?" She reached around and tapped the necklace in the center of the beads. "I'll always be here. Even when you can't see me."

"...We're here." Inuyasha stopped and leaned back down. Kagome hesitantly got off his back, sensing the shift in mood.

"Was it something I said? I didn't mean to...I mean, I don't know...if anything offended you-."

"I'm fine, Kagome," Inuyasha replied with a forced smile. "Look, the village is right beyond those trees. Why don't we head threw?"

Kagome bit her lip, wanting to say more, but stopped herself and nodded. "Let's grab something to eat." She smiled, oddly excited. "Then, we start our first jewel shard hunt."

**A/N: Sorry for the short chapter! Next one will be longer, I promise :) I'm on summer break, so updates should be better for the next couple months ^^**


	26. Suspicion

**A/N: Oh my goodness you guys, I am so sorry for taking this long T^T I've just been so busy and I've had barely any time. I've tried to write this chapter on and off for months and I finally got the chance to finish it. Before I write the next one, I'm going to re-read all the previous chapters to make sure I leave no stone unturned as I try to wrap this up. Thank you for being so patient with me!**

**~Cassi**

"Kagome," Inuyasha whispered. God, it felt good to direct that name at something instead of having it be a memory. "I hate to interrupt, but shouldn't we be going?"

Kagome looked up from her plate of salmon, making a face as she bit into it, "You're ruining my lunch," she commented. "Can't a dead priestess have a few bites of fish without being reminded of her short amount of time left?"

"...Fine, do what you like," he sighed and glanced down at his own fish, but didn't pick it up to eat it. He scratched at the white piece of cloth that Kagome had ripped off her dress to hide his ears. It looked ridiculous and he knew it, but at least the villages weren't gawking at him for being a hanyou.

"You know, I was thinking..." Kagome said as she chewed. "...How are we paying for this?"

Inuyasha paled. "Oh shit, I hadn't thought about that."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Oh. Joys."

"I still have these," Inuyasha pulled out the crystal halves that the jewel shard had been lodged it.

"Good thinking," Kagome brightened, "that's rare stuff. Give the guy one half and we can get me some new cloths with the other."

After they paid, the pair wandered back out into the village, quickly finding a place to buy some cloths.

"We're lucky that the jewel shard was in a trading village," Kagome commented. "There's a lot of stuff here, easier to blend in."

"Uh huh," Inuyasha replied anxiously. Their hour together was ending soon, and he didn't want to spend it cloths shopping.

"How's this look?" Kagome asked, holding up a green dress with a white top and black ruffles on the sleeves. "Too flashy?"

"I think it would look good," He said with a smile. "Green has always suited you best."

Kagome blushed lightly, "I'll take it." She said to the shop keeper, handing her the last of the crystal.

After Kagome changed, the hanyou and the priestess finally began their scavenger hunt.

"It's coming from one of the houses, I know that much," Kagome said with squinted eyes against a now blazing sun. The storm from before had vanished and the clouds with them. The ground was almost dry already.

"Masao would give it to someone trusted," Inuyasha added, "so, wouldn't it be another lord like him?"

"That or someone foreign like him," She agreed, trying to narrow down the choice. "I don't see any mansions."

"So we go with foreigners than?" Inuyasha asked. He waited for a moment, but Kagome didn't answer. "Kagome?" He looked over at her anxiously. She was staring straight ahead, unblinking, eyes glazed over. "Kagome?!"

"...Huh?" She blinked and looked up at him. "Inu...Inuyasha? Where...?"

"Hotaru," Inuyasha breathed, frowning a bit, "we're in a village, don't worry. You're safe."

Hotaru turned left and right, "A village..." She stated, then she looked down at her cloths and crinkled her brow. "Ugh, I hate green, why am I wearing different cloths? Did you drug me or something? Totally not on the 'okay' list."

"No! No-! It was...!" Inuyasha trailed off. Did he want to tell her? Would she even be okay with her shell being used like that? Even if it wasn't truly her's either... "You were really out of it. I bought you some cloths and the woman who we bought them from helped you into it...she said you had a fever is all and gave you some medicine."

Hotaru raised an eyebrow, "I'm going to do us both a favor and drop the subject, since your attempts to lie to me are utterly pathetic. Besides, at this point as long as my head is still attached to me when I wake up, I really don't give a shit. So, what exactly are we doing here?"

"We're looking for more jewel shards," He answered. "There's one somewhere nearby."

"More?" Hotaru questioned. "When did we fine _one?_"

"Um, it was in the orb that you were holding onto. It's in your...your um..." he gestured towards his chest awkwardly.

Hotaru blushed and quickly turned around, when she turned back she held it in her palm, her cheeks still fiery red. "..."

"Another question to skip?" He said hopefully.

Hotaru opened her mouth to speak, but quickly closed it and nodded sharply. "For now. Anything like this happens again, we'll scoot right into your funeral."

"Noted..."

"So, this jewel shard, why do we need it again?"

"To stop that Masao guy, and Naraku."

"Naraku?"

"Too much to explain, another time."

"I'll take you up on that," she looked out over the village and frowned. "I don't like this place, it doesn't feel right."

"How so?"

"It's like...cliquey."

"Um...what?"

She sighed, "Social groups, ya know? People who don't intermingle with people who aren't like them? See, look over there," she pointed to a group of women standing straight up with there noses tilted back, like they'd smelled something nasty, "those are the popular girls. The ones with money or influence or beauty. And those women," she turned her finger towards a quiet group of females who were silently looking over each others clothing choices with approval, "are the smart ones. You'd never be able to tell, though, since in this era women weren't exactly sought for their advice."

"You can tell all that is just a few glances?" Inuyasha said in surprise.

Hotaru shrugged, "Hey, it's a gift. Not the best one I have, but it's definitely note worthy."

"I'll say. Do you think you could pick out foreign males?"

"I can give it a shot, sure." She narrowed her eyes and started to focus on the men that walked around them. A few moments later, she stuck out her finger again in the direction of a single boy, one of maybe only sixteen. "He's the only one here, I think. You can tell because he's by himself, and when he was talking to that lady selling bread she didn't know what he was saying. His cloths don't match well either, like he doesn't know what to do."

"Wow, that's amazing."

"We all have our talents. Now, care to clue me in on why you're having me do this?"

"I think that kid's got a jewel shard."

"Really?" She raised an eyebrow. "A scrawny thing like him? Wouldn't demons be swarming him for it or something?"

"If he's in league with Masao then he probably has some trick up his sleeve. Come on, let's go talk to him."

They approached him quickly, before he could vanish from their sight. Hotaru stepped in front of him and batted her eyelashes. He looked at her in surprise with bright blue eyes, then up at Inuyasha with fear. "I want no trouble." He said in a thick accent. His hands trembled as he held a bag full of bread close to his chest.

"Neither do we," Hotaru said pleasantly. "We just wanted to be friendly. You're new to the village, aren't you?"

"Um, yes," the boy blew a strand of long blonde hair away from his eyes then glanced down at his bare feet, moving a pebble with his toes. "Just last week."

"Where from?"

"The western lands, over sea."

"Over sea, wow!" Hotaru said, leaning closer to him and smiling brighter. "That must have been some journey. Don't you think so, Inuyasha? Why, imagine how long it took and how rough those waters were. You poor boy! I insist you come have lunch with us, our treat. Neighbors must be nice to each other, of course."

At the mentioning of paying for another meal Inuyasha stiffened and glared. They barely payed for their own lunch! Of course, Hotaru didn't know that. It had been with Kagome. She didn't even realize she'd already eaten.

"No, no, I'm fine." The boy took a hesitant step back and looked about for a way to escape.

"We insist." Hotaru pressed, grabbing the bag of bread from him.

"H-Hey!" He reached for it to take it back, but the spunky girl giggled and side stepped him.

"Come on, indulge me, won't you?"

"I-I really-."

"You going to make a lady wait?" Inuyasha said dangerously. The boy gulped and put up no more fights, following close behind as Hotaru led him forward.

"This way!" She called over her shoulder, taking them off into a path in the forest. While she walked in front, Inuyasha walked in back, and although Hotaru was pretending to be a friendly neighbor, the hanyou spotted the suspicious looks she watchfully gave the young boy. "My name is Hotaru, and what's yours?"

"Osamu," he whispered back.

"This here is Inuyasha; he may look scary, but he's a softy at heart. Isn't that right, Inu~?"

"Don't call me that," Inuyasha growled.

"Haha!" Hotaru skipped forward, took one more look back at the village, and then stopped abruptly in the center of the path. "I say this is far enough. Now then, care to tell us where it is?"

Osamu looked confused at the question. "W-Where what is?"

"The jewel shard, you idiot," Inuyasha cut in, "we know you have it. Don't play dumb."

"I-I don't know what you're talking about. I just got here a week ago. I don't own any jewels, I am a poor boy from western lands who came to Japan to find a place. That is all."

"Did you come with anyone else?" Hotaru demanded.

"Y-Yes, my father, Taro."

Inuyasha looked up at Hotaru, "We should go see this man, as soon as we can."

Hotaru nodded and turned back to Taro. "Would you care to take us to meet your father? We'll ask a few questions and then leave. That's all we want to do, alright?"

Osamu shook with fear and backed up into a tree. "Please, sir and madam, I cannot. Please understand, I cannot!"

"Just for a moment?" Hotaru begged. "Then we will leave you alone, we promise."

Osamu shook his blonde head furiously. "I cannot! I cannot!" He turned from them sharply—and went right threw the tree he had been leaning against.

Hotaru blinked in confusion. "Um...what just happened."

Inuyasha ran around the other side of the tree, but there was no trace of the boy. "He's vanished completely," he said in disbelief.

Hotaru went up to the tree and carefully put her hand to it, eyes wide. "What was he? A demon?"

"He didn't smell like one. He smelled like a normal human."

Hotaru furrowed her brow and then pressed her hand carefully forward against the tree—it went through, just as easily as Osamu. She cried in surprise and drew back. The tree looked undisturbed. "What is this thing?"

Inuyasha walked around the tree again and sniffed its exterior. "I don't know, some kind of portal or something."

"Where does it lead?"

"There's only one way to find out." Inuyasha placed his foot carefully into the tree, it disappeared from view and he could feel a cool floor on the other side. "Come on." He held out his hand for Hotaru to take.

She backed away and put a hand close to her chest. "I don't want to."

"Fine, then stay back here."

Hotaru bit her lip. "I'm sorry. When I put my hand threw it just felt so...sinister. I don't know if I could handle going in there."

"It's okay," Inuyasha soothed her. "Just wait here. I'll be back soon once I get to the bottom of this."

"Alright," she whispered back to him, "please be careful."

"I will."

Inuyasha glanced back one more time before leaning forward and engulfing himself in the cool blackness of the tree. The last thing he saw was Hotaru, her eyes wide with fear as though witnessing something terrible. She opened her mouth to speak, but a loud cracking sound, like wood splitting, drowned her out. Something fell in front of the portal entrance, and Inuyasha plunged into dark silence.


End file.
